7th Pay Commission: 7 main takeaways from Cabinet decision on HRA, other allowances

After a year-long long wait, Central government employees finally got to hear from the Narendra Modi government on implementation of the revised allowance structure under the Seventh Pay Commission.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made the announcement at a press conference today and said that Seventh Pay Commission's recommendations have been approved with 34 modifications.

The revision in allowances, including House Rent Allowance (HRA) rates, will be effective from July 1.

HERE ARE THE MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM CABINET MEET ON SEVENTH PAY COMMISSION:

1) House Rent Allowance (HRA) to be paid at 24 per cent, 16 per cent and 8 per cent respectively for X, Y and Z cities.

2) HRA not to be less than Rs 5,400, Rs 3,600 and Rs 1,800 for X, Y and Z cities, calculated at 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 10 per cent of minimum pay of Rs 18,000.

3) Seventh Pay Commission recommended revision of HRA when Dearness Allowance (DA) reaches 50 per cent and 100 per cent. The government decided to revised rates when DA crosses 25 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.

4) The Siachen Allowance has been increased from Rs 14,000 to Rs 30,000 per month for soldiers, and Rs 21,000 to Rs 42,500 for officers for extreme risk and hardship.

5) Fixed Medical Allowance for pensioners increased from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 per month.

6) Constant Attendance Allowance on 100 per cent disablement for pensioners increased from Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,750 per month.

7) For nurses and ministerial staff at hospitals, government has increased Nursing Allowance from Rs 4,800 to Rs 7,200 per month. Operation Theatre Allowance raised from Rs 360 per month to Rs 540 per month.

The Cabinet decision on HRA. Source: PIB

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