7th Pay Commission Latest News: Whenever Central government employees and pensioners see any news related to 7th Pay Commission (CPC), mostly they expect something good and fruitful in terms of salary hike, HRA increment, arrears payments and others. But, this time 7th CPC has brought a hint of bad news which might be in the offing. According to reports, the Defence Ministry is likely to take a decision on capping the educational expenses paid to the children of ex-servicemen in line with the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. Reportedly, amid demands not to go ahead with the decision, a letter dated September 13, issued by the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, capped the fee for tuition and hostels at Rs 10,000 per month, as per the recommendations. As per sources, Defence Ministry was apprised of the matter, indicating that a decision on the issue could be taken soon.
Also, on Tuesday, Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The RS MP urged Sitharaman not to cap the total expenditure towards tuition fee and hostel charge at Rs 10,000. Chandrasekhar in his letter to the minister said capping the fund goes against the very principle by which this scheme was implemented.
Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and former army chief and Minister of State for External Affairs General V.K. Singh had also urged the minister to review the move.
Cost of education of ex-servicemen’s children
The scheme for government bearing the cost of education of ex-servicemen’s children was announced in the Lok Sabha on December 18, 1971 – two days after the Pakistani forces surrendered in Dhaka after the India-Pakistan war that led to the liberation of Bangladesh.
Earlier, in a big financial bonanza to 48 lakh central government employees, the Union Cabinet had approved recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission with 34 modifications.
The increased allowances came into effect from July 1, 2017 and were based on the recommendations of the Committee on Allowances (CoA).
The 7th Pay Commission had suggested the abolition of 53 allowances. Of these, the government decided not to do away with 12 allowances.