The Sixth Central Pay commission was set up by Union Cabinet of India on 5 October 2006. The Commission, headed by Justice B.N.Srikrishna.The Other members of the commission were Prof. Ravindra Dholakia, Mr. J.S.Mathur and Member-Secretary Ms Sushama Nath, IAS.
The Pay Commission submitted its report to Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 24 March 2008. On 29 August 2008, the government announced it decision to implement the report on "structure of emoluments, allowances, conditions of service and retirement benefits of Central Government employees including... the Defence Forces", 'subject to some modifications'.
Sixth Central Pay Commission, unlike the earlier Central Pay Commissions(CPC), was given wide remit. Its Terms of Reference, were expansive and went well beyond recommending "a proper pay package for the Government employees". It included making recommendations rationalizing the governmental organization and structure to make them more "modern, professional and citizen friendly entities that are dedicated to the service of the people".
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Report
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government headed by Manmohan Singh, approved the Sixth Pay commission recommendations with some modifications on 14 August 2008. Revised pay were implemented with effect from 01.01.2006 and allowances with effect from 01.09.2008.The report led to a 6% increase in dearness allowance for central govt employees from 16% to 22%.
Financial Implication
The 6CPC estimated that the financial implication of its recommendations would be "Rs.7975 crore for the year 2008-09, and an additional, one-time burden of Rs.18060 crore on payment of arrears".
Highlights
Ranks and Grade Pay
The sixth pay commission, in a departure from earlier pay commission, created 20 distinct pay grades or ranks in the Government hierarchy, with intent to determine the status, and the Seniority of a post. The Pay grades were also intended to make "Pay scales ..irrelevant for purposes of computing seniority". The highest grades/rank of the Secretary/equivalent('apex scale'), and Cabinet Secretary/equivalent, were outside the grade pay gradation, and were assigned a fixed scale of pay.
Running Pay Bands
The 6th Pay Commission recommended four running pay bands (excluding -1S) containing 20 grades for civilian employees as well as for the Defence Forces.The commission explained that the pay-band would (a) ease stagnation,by opening "promotional avenues...even though no functional justification for higher posts may exist" (b)ease problems of 'pay fixation' and remove "many of the pay scale related anomalies". Another innovation, was the creation of "additional separate running pay band... the scale of Rs.18400-22400 in higher administrative grade". As per the latest updates the salary of bank po after 7th pay commission will be 41,000 per month .Right now Bank Po salary is about 29,000.
Anomalies
The report had many anomalies. To deal with anomalies the government established Anomalies Committees to examine "individual, post-specific and cadre-specific anomalies", and submit its report within a year.
The armed forces which was not represented on 6CPC was particularly disappointed with the report and decisions by the UPA government. The anomalies pointed out by the armed forces have yet to be addressed. The failure to address the anomalies, and implement One Rank One Pay (OROP), provoked unprecedented public agitation by the former members of armed forces. In November 2015, Maj Gen Satbir Singh, Chairman IESM, said there were still 40 pending anomalies which have yet to be resolved.
Running Pay Bands and the armed Forces
The 6th Pay Commission controversially recommended clubbing four selection grade military ranks, Lt Colonel to Maj General and their equivalent in the navy and Air Force, in the same running pay band as for civilian time scale ranks with 4 to 16 years of service. This radical recommendation, which the UPA Government accepted without questioning, made major generals, rear admirals, and air marshals, a highly selective rank, at par with time scale appointments tenable by Civilian officers with 16 years of service. UPA Government implementation of these radical suggestions, has been a continuing cause of widespread dismay amongst servicing officers, and ex-servicemen.
Time Scale Civil-Police promotions
Following the 6CPC the UPA Government made promotions in the Indian Police Service and other Civil Services time bound. For instance, Indian Police Service officers are promoted on fixed time table, more or less independent of functional requirements or span of responsibility, up to the level of Inspector Generals of Police. Promotions are mandated on completion of 4, 9, 13, 14, and 18 years of service as tabulated below. Time bound promotion have led to police organizations becoming top heavy, and unwieldy. For instance, Delhi Police, which had one Inspector General (IG), till the seventies, now has 12 officers in the apex and HAG grades, a pay grade higher than that of most Lt Generals of the Indian army. in addition it has several dozen IGs, as it is a time bound rank to which all officers on completion of 18 years service are automatically promoted. Most IG's functions and responsibilities are no different from that of earlier era DIGs and Superintendents of police.
Up Graduation of heads of Central and State Police Forces
Following the sixth Pay Commission report, the UPA Government, in recognition of the growing role and influence of Ministry of Home(MHA), India's Interior Ministry, promoted the heads of the five police led Central Para Military Forces, to the highest grade pay, or the apex scale, with pay scale of Rs.80,000 (fixed). The promotions to apex grade includes not only the heads of the bigger forces like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Border Security Force (BSF), but also the smaller MHA Forces, like the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) (CISF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). In addition to these promotions, the Government also promoted the Director General of The Railway Police, to highest grade pay, or the apex scale of Rs 80,000(fixed). In addition to promotions in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), the Government, prompted by political considerations, also approved the promotion of Director General of Police of States to the highest grade pay, or the apex scale of Rs 80,000(fixed). This made the Director Generals(DG) of these Central and state Forces at par in rank, pay, and status with secretaries to the Government of India, Armed Forces senior most Lieutenant Generals, Air Marshals and Vice Admirals. In sum, the government taking its cue from Sixth Pay Commission, promoted several dozen officers from the Indian Police service to the highest pay grade tenable in the civil-military hierarchy. The only MHA Armed Forces left out from up gradation to the higher grades was the Assam rifles, which is headed by an army Lt General, and the National Security Guard (NSG), which has a sizable army component.
Non-Functional Promotions
The UPA Government, in the wake of 6CPC, to placate the MHA's police led Armed Forces, and Indian Police Service officers, implemented "Non Functional " ranks. According to this "whenever any Indian Administrative Service officer .....in pay band 3 or pay band 4, is promoted, members of the Indian Police service and other All India Services (AIS), senior to such officers will be automatically be eligible to be "appointed to the same grade on non-functional basis from the date of posting of the Indian Administrative Service officer in that particular grade". This rule, although welcomed by the AIS, is source of sloth, and waste. As a result, all members of the IAS, and majority of the officers AIS, i.e., all the officers of the Government of India from these services, in time, are 'promoted' to apex grades, the highest pay grade, irrespective of their responsibilities or span of control.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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