Pay and pension revision recommendations are scheduled to take effect from January 1.
- To meet fiscal deficit target, the Government should merge the basic pay and dearness allowance (DA) of central government employees in the current year.
- On other side, Defer implementing any real increases in pay and pensions.
- This could be done by compensating those who would have to bear the burden of the deferred effect by giving them a more generous award distributed over several years.
- The Government’s fiscal deficit in 2008-09, the year the Sixth Central Pay Commission award was implemented, doubled to 6 per cent.
- Currently, Central government pay and allowances account for 1 per cent of the country’s GDP.