2008 Budget

Government officials could expect a hint of their new pay structure in the Budget. Finance minister P Chidambaram is likely to make an indicative announcement with regard to implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

While the actual report may be given later, the commission headed by Justice B N Srikrishna is understood to have conveyed the relevant information to the finance ministry. The government may make an announcement on its intent to implement the recommendations in the Budget, sources said.


This is the last Budget of the UPA government and, politically, it wants to give out the right signals to government employees. The commission was set up by the finance ministry following an announcement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations are expected to result in a hike of 30-40% in basic salary of central government employees in various categories. In the current fiscal, the outgo on account of pay and allowances for the government — with an employee strength of over 3 lakh — has been pegged at Rs 46,379 crore.