Around 50 lakh central government employees are waiting for the pay hike beyond the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission. While the government has officially denied any increase beyond the 7th CPC, a section of individuals is still hopeful of a good news coming their way.
Meanwhile, the dying hopes of an increase hike got rejuvenated when the Modi government has decided to increase in the Minimum Support Price.
But with the hike in MSP, the hopes are once again alive as this is an indicator that the government has the money and the economy is looking good. Many feel that the MSP is just the beginning of a slew of measures that the government would be introducing.
Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh today termed as "historic" the Narendra Modi government's decision to increase the minimum support price (MSP) of Kharif crops to 1.5 times the cost of production."Modi government has taken a historic decision in farmers' interest to hike the MSP of Kharif crops to 1.5 times the cost of production from the 2018-19 kharif season," Singh, the Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, said.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Finance P. Radhakrishnan in Lok Sabha had said that the Prime Minister's Narendra Modi government is not planning to give any hike in minimum basic salary beyond the recommendations of the seventh pay commission.
Currently, the Central government employees are getting basic pay according to the fitment formula of 2.57 of the basic pay and if this big step is taken, it will come as a massive news for the Central government employees. Fitment factor is a figure used by 7th CPC with which the basic pay in 6th CPC regime (i.e Pay in Pay band + Grade pay) is multiplied in order to fix basic pay in revised pay structure (i.e 7th CPC). Fitment factor formulated by 7th CPC is 2.57.
According to a report in the Sen Times, in the wake of 2019 elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would announce a salary hike in his August 15 speech from the Red fort. The report claimed that the Prime Minister would announce a hike in minimum pay and fitment factor and raise in retirement age on the Independence Day, 15 August 2018.
The report quoted a government official saying, "Under pressure from the coming general election due by May 2019, the Modi government has indicated that it may hike pay of central government employees beyond the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, seeking to win the Lok Sabha polls because the government knows one government employees can persuade at least 100 voters for the party."
“The two announcements that Prime Minister Modi is likely to make in his speech from Red Fort on 15 August, the Independence Day for central government employees are an increase of pay and the raising retirement age to 62 years from 60,” the report further added.
