Pay hike, a Deepavali gift for govt staff

“The revised pay packet to employees and teachers would work out to an additional expenditure of Rs 8,016 crore, and Rs 6,703 crore for pensioners and family pensioners. “The revision would benefit 19 lakh beneficiaries comprising 12 lakh employees and teachers on government rolls, and about seven lakh old age pensioners and family pensioners”, he said. 

Under the revised pay structure, the minimum pay has gone up to Rs 15,700 from Rs 6,100 while the maximum pay saw an upward revision to Rs 2.25 lakh from Rs 77,000. The revision would come into effect ‘notionally’ from January 1, 2016 and monetary benefits would take effect from  October 1, 2017. 

For pensioners and family pensioners, the figure was obtained by multiplying the existing figure by a factor of 2.57 like it was implemented by the Union government. The minimum pension and family pension have been fixed at Rs 7,850, while the maximum pension and family pension would be Rs 1.12 lakh and Rs 67,500, respectively. Gratuity has been enhanced to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh with effect from January 1, 2016. Palaniswami claimed that the revision of HRA, and other allowances has been enhanced unlike never in the past. 

Noon meal workers, anganwadi workers, village panchayat secretaries and those working in special time-scale pay would have their special time scale pay multiplied by a factor of 2.57 and their minimum and maximum pay would be revised to Rs 3,000 and Rs 11,100. A revision of 30 per cent has been effected for staff drawing consolidated, fixed pay and honorarium, in the revised structure. 

A Staff Rationalisation Committee would be formed to go into cost-cutting measures for the government. It would identify unnecessary posts across all departments and make recommendations for appointment of staff for other categories through external agencies or on contract basis.