7th pay commission
The year 2025 is special for central employees, because on December 31, the 7th Pay Commission is completing its 10 years. With this an entire salary cycle is going to formally end. This commission, which came into effect from January 1, 2016, had made major changes in the process of determining salaries, allowances and salaries of employees. Today, when the discussion about the 8th Pay Commission has intensified, it becomes important to know how much the salary has actually increased in the last 10 years.
Fitment factor became the biggest identity of the 7th Pay Commission. The government had fixed it at 2.57. This means that the new basic salary was decided by multiplying the basic salary of the 6th Pay Commission by 2.57. Along with this, another big decision was taken. The grade pay system was completely abolished and a pay matrix was introduced in its place. In the new system, every level and step became clearly visible, making it easier for employees to understand how their salary would increase.
What was the salary in the last round of 6th Pay Commission?
When the 6th Pay Commission ended on 31 December 2015, inflation was at its peak. Its direct effect was visible in Dearness Allowance i.e. DA. The picture of a Level-1 employee at that time was something like this. Basic pay was Rs 7,000 and grade pay was Rs 1,800. That means the total basic amount was Rs 8,800. The DA on it had reached 119 percent, which was around Rs 10,400. Employees living in big cities used to get around Rs 2,600 as HRA. If we add all this, the total salary, excluding transport and other small allowances, would reach around Rs 21,800 to 22,000. It is clear that even before the new Pay Commission came, the effect of inflation had been covered to a great extent through DA.
How did the salary change in the 7th Pay Commission?
In the 7th Pay Commission, which came into effect from January 1, 2016, DA was again started from zero, but instead there was a big jump in the basic pay. The basic salary of Level-1 employee was directly increased to Rs 18,000. The hassle of grade pay ended and the entire salary now started being decided according to the pay matrix. At that time the employees felt that the salary had not increased as much as was expected, because the DA had again come down to zero.
What does today’s salary tell after 10 years?
Now that it has been almost 10 years since the 7th Pay Commission was implemented, DA has again increased to about 58 percent. On the basic of Rs 18,000, this DA works out to be around Rs 10,400, which is almost the same amount that was being received at the last time of 6th Pay Commission. At the same time, a big change has been seen in HRA. HRA in X category cities has now reached Rs 5,400. In this way, today the total salary of a Level-1 employee, excluding other allowances, has reached around Rs 33,500 to 34,000.
How much has the salary increased in 10 years?
If we look at the entire data directly, the picture becomes clear. Basic pay increased from Rs 8,800 to Rs 18,000, i.e. more than double. The DA amount then was around Rs 10,400 and even today it is almost the same, the difference is only in percentage. HRA has almost doubled as compared to before, which provided good support to the take-home salary. Overall, while 10 years ago the salary was around Rs 22,000, today it has increased to around Rs 34,000. That means a total increase of about 55 percent.
Expectation from 8th Pay Commission
Salaries definitely increased in the last 10 years, but a major part of this increase came from DA. Basic pay remains the same from 2016 till today. Inflation is continuously increasing, but the basic base of salary has not increased. This is the reason why employee organizations are no longer satisfied with just the DA increase. They expect higher fitment factor, higher minimum basic pay and new salary structure from the 8th Pay Commission. In the eyes of the employees, now the next pay commission has become not just a relief but a necessity.
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