Defence forces to get special hearing from 7th pay panel

The armed forces are finally in for a special hearing, with the Centre likely to separately deal with issues pertaining to their service conditions and payment structures in the 7th Central Pay Commission. The Union government, however, has not accepted the demand for military representation on the pay panel.

The terms of reference for the 7th CPC, to be cleared by the Cabinet, will for the first time include a paragraph on the defence forces. It has come in response to intense lobbying by the defence ministry and the armed forces, with the latter for long complaining of a “raw deal” compared to their civilian counterparts in the fixation of salaries by the central panel.

According to the terms of reference, the pay panel will examine the salary structure and benefits, including retirement benefits, with “due emphasis on the aspects unique to these (military) personnel”. The allowances could be reviewed in view of the hardships, both in terms of operations and frequent transfers, associated with military service.

There is another plus for the defence forces, with Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur to chair the pay commission. He has been the chairman of the Armed Forces Tribunal and the government says he is conversant with the issues related to defence forces.

(Time of India - Delhi edition 13/02/2014)

Prime Minister Approves Composition of 7th Central Pay Commission

Prime Minister today (04/02/2014) Approves Composition of 7th Central Pay Commission Under the Chairmanship of Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur, Retired Judge of the Supreme Court and Retired Chairman, Armed Forces Tribunal.

The Prime Minister has approved the composition of the 7th Central Pay Commission as follows:

1. Shri Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur -  Chairman  (Retired Judge of the Supreme Court and Retired  Chairman, Armed Forces Tribunal)
2. Shri Vivek Rae  -  Member (Full Time), (Secretary, Petroleum & Natural Gas)
3. Dr. Rathin Roy  -  Member (Part Time) (Director, NIPFP) 
4. Smt. Meena Agarwal  -    Secretary,(OSD, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance)

It is not clear whether Pay commission for Armed Forces will be setup separately or pay structure of the armed forces will continue to be decided by current pay commission.