Seventh pay panel gets extension till 31 Dec to submit report on revisions

New Delhi: The Seventh Pay Commission’s term was on Wednesday extended by four months till 31 December to give its recommendations on revising emoluments for nearly 48 lakh central government employees and 55 lakh pensioners. The Commission, whose recommendations may also have a bearing on the salaries of the state government staff, was given more time by the Union Cabinet just a day before its original 18-month term was coming to an end. [caption id=“attachment_2394570” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The Commission, headed by Justice A K Mathur, was appointed by the previous UPA government in February 2014, and its recommendations are scheduled to take effect from 1 January, 2016. “The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today gave its approval for the extension of the term of the 7th Central Pay Commission by four months up to 31 December, 2015,” an official statement said. In view of its volume of work and intensive stakeholders’ consultations, the Pay Commission had made a request to the government for a four-month extension up to 31 December, it added. The government constitutes the Pay Commission almost every 10 years to revise the pay scale of its employees and often these are adopted by states after some modifications. As part of the exercise, the Commission holds discussions with various stakeholders, including organisations, federations, groups representing civil employees as well as Defence services. The other members of the commission are Vivek Rae, a retired IAS officer of 1978 batch, and Rathin Roy, an economist. Meena Agarwal is Secretary of the Commission. The Sixth Pay Commission was implemented with effect from 1 January, 2006, the fifth from 1 January, 1996 and the fourth from 1 January, 1986. PTI