Government bhavans of Delhi have more exciting stuff than possible mid-term elections or Twenty20 to keep them enthralled. Officers and junior staff are in the grip of a different set of statistics: salary revisions likely to be announced by the sixth Pay Commission for central government employees.
One estimate doing the rounds of assorted ministries could literally give India Inc?s six-digit pay packets a run for their money. The increase in basic pay for all government employees is expected to be in the 200-300% range. Secretary-level officers could get up to a whopping Rs 1.25 lakh as basic monthly salary, against the present Rs 30,000 a month. At the other end of the scale, a Class-IV employee drawing a basic pay of Rs 2,550 a month may now earn as much as Rs 8,000 in the new salary structure.
Since allowances like house rent and travel are linked to basic pay, they too could undergo dramatic increase. Experts associated with the earlier commissions say that before the final report is adopted, several such indicative lists make the rounds.
The sixth Pay Commission, headed by Justice BN Srikrishna, has been given 18 months to submit its report (by March 2008), but government officials say the new pay scales may come into effect from as early as the beginning of next year. Since the scales are usually applied retrospectively, arrears could be quite generous.
The commission has held extensive discussions with all stakeholders and has also set up a website.
In any case, the recommendations will have a sizable impact on government finances. The recommendations of the fifth Pay Commission, set up in 1994, cost the Central exchequer Rs 17,000 crore. The fiscal impact this time around would be far higher, putting the government in a tough spot to reconcile the salary hikes with commitments under the Fiscal Responsibility & Budget Management Act.