7th Pay Commission Report will be processed by Empowered Committee – First Meeting of Nodal Officers nominated by Ministries / Departments with Empowered Committee constituted by Govt for reviewing 7CPC recommendations

Nodal officers of all Central Ministries and departments will meet the Empowered Committee on 2nd Feb this year to discuss pay and allowances related issues pertain to the Central Government Employees attached to their Ministry

The Points to be discussed in the meeting would involve 7th Pay Commission recommendations relate to the ministry / department concerned which involve more than 45 lakh central government employees and defence personnel and around 55 lakh Central Civilian and defence pensioners.

An Empowered Committee of Secretaries, headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, has been set up to process the panel’s recommendations that would put an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore on the exchequer.

An Implementation Cell has been created in the Finance Ministry which will work as the Secretariat of the Committee.

Joint Secretary (Implementation Cell) would take the meeting of all the Nodal Officers of ministries/departments on February 2 to discuss the relevant issues in connection with the processing of the recommendations, a Finance Ministry office memorandum said.

Empowered Committee of Secretaries (CoS) headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha to process 7th Pay Commission report

The meeting is aimed at strengthening the points of action pertaining to all the ministries/departments in general and also with regard to specific issues with a view to “enabling an effective, holistic and quicker processing” of the recommendations.

In November 2015, the Finance Ministry had asked concerned Ministries and Departments to nominate a nodal officer at the level of a Joint Secretary to interact with the Implementation Cell.

The recommendations when implemented would have a bearing on the remuneration of 47 lakh central government employees and 52 lakh pensioners.

Subject to acceptance by the government, the recommendations will take effect from January 1, 2016.

Seventh Pay Commission had submitted its report before the Centre in November, recommending a hike of 23.55 per cent in salaries granted to Central Government employees, along with an equal increment for the staffers who are eligible for pensions. The report of the Commission positively impacts the salary seekers and pensioners, but it also ends up creating an annual burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore on the public exchequer. On recommendations of the Cabinet, Government has formed a 13 member Committee of Secretaries (CoS) will review the sops granted to employees and analyse their feasibility and impact on the exchequer.

The empowered screening committee will include secretaries from ministries of Home Affairs and Defence, Department of Personnel and Training, Pension and PW, Revenue, Expenditure, Health, and Science and Technology. Chairman of Railway Board, Deputy CAG and Secretary (Security) re also included in the panel.

At least five states reeling under fiscal strain – Punjab, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have sought the extension of January 1 deadline from the Centre to implement the recommendations of the Pay Commission. States are supposed to replicate the same model of payment to its governmental employees and pensioners as the Pay Commission recommends for their Union counterparts.

Source: The Economic Times