The Commission examined 196 allowances given to central government employees. (File photo)
The annual 'dress allowance' for officers attached to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former prime ministers and their families, has got a big lift. As part of the Seventh Central Pay Commission, diplomats and elite Special Protection Group (SPG) officers during operational duties would get Rs 27,800 annually and Rs 21,225 on non-operational work, according to an official order.
Before the implementation of the panel's recommendation, the officers got Rs 9,000 annually as uniform allowance. The SPG is responsible for the safety of PM Modi, former PM Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, her children Rahul and Priyanka, among others.
The pay commission had in its report recommended an annual grant of Rs 10,000 as dress allowance. The panel's report was examined by a Committee on Allowances headed by Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa. The Commission examined 196 allowances given to various categories of central government employees.
Outfit allowance for Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers and employees has been increased Rs 5,625 to Rs 10,625 per posting abroad, depending on their grade, as uniform allowance, the order by the finance ministry said.
The uniform allowance given to all categories of employees was recommended to be abolished as a separate grant by the pay commission that had recommended it is subsumed in the newly proposed dress allowance.
Officers of the Indian Army, Air Force, Navy, central armed police forces, central police organisations and coast guards would get a dress allowance of Rs 20,000 per year. Except for the Navy and the Coast Guard, other officers were getting an initial annual allowance of Rs 21,000 and a renewal grant of Rs 4,500 (payable every three years). Those in the Navy and the Coast Guard were entitled for an initial grant of Rs 24,000 and then Rs 7,500 (payable every three years).
"The amount of dress allowance shall be credited to the salary of employees directly once a year in the month of July," the order said, adding that the new charges take effect from July 1, 2017.