7th Pay Commission: Gratuity ceiling doubled to Rs 20 lakh

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the pay panel recommendation of doubling ceiling of gratuity from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

In a bonanza for over 1 crore government employees and pensioners, the Cabinet today approved implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, which had recommended an overall hike of 23.5 percent.

It wasn't however know immediately if the Cabinet had bettered the hike recommended in salary and allowances of nearly 50 lakh government employees and 58 lakh pensioners.

The pay panel had in November last year recommended 14.27 percent hike in basic pay at junior levels, the lowest in 70 years. The previous 6th Pay Commission had recommended a 20 per cent hike which the government doubled while implementing it in 2008.

After considering the increase proposed in allowances, the hike in remunerations comes to 23.55 percent.

The 23.55 percent overall hike in salaries, allowances and pension would entail an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore or nearly 0.7 percent of the GDP, to the exchequer.

The entry level pay has been recommended to be raised to Rs 18,000 per month from current Rs 7,000 while the maximum pay, drawn by the Cabinet Secretary, has been fixed at Rs 2.5 lakh per month from current Rs 90,000.