By IANS,
New Delhi : A committee appointed by the defence ministry to look into the grievances of the armed forces regarding the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission has suggested a pay hike for soldiers.
The Empowered Committee of Secretaries will make a presentation before Defence Minister A. K. Antony on Thursday, a defence official said.
The committee was formed after the Justice B.N. Srikrishna headed Sixth Pay Commission recommendations drew flak from many quarters, including armed forces and IPS officers.
The Sixth Pay Commission has recommended a 40 percent across-the-board pay hike for armed forces personnel, doubling their allowances and military service pay (MSP) for officers up to the rank of brigadier and equivalent, as also for PBORs.
However, the services chiefs had pointed out that after taking into account taxes and other deductions, the wage hike in real terms would amount to only 20 percent.
In the case of PBORs, the commission has recommended that at the entry level, sepoys (privates) and their equivalents receive a minimum of Rs.7,860, rising to a maximum of Rs.40,600 for Subedar Majors and their equivalents.
The three service chiefs also met Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar last month to decide on their demands for revision of a pay panel’s recommendations.