The 7th Central Pay Commission (7CPC), constituted in February 2014 the principles and structure of emoluments of all central government civilian employees including defence forces in India, submitted its report on 19 November 2015. 7CPC's recommendations affects the organization, rank structure, pay, allowances and pension, of 13,86,171 armed forces personnel. There is a salary monitoring system that is designed to determine and suggest needed changes to the salaries of government employees.page 105, para 6.2.2
Following the submission of the 7CPC report, the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces in a submission to the Government stated that the recommendations of 7th CPC are anomalous, discriminatory, and at variance with historical parities. The anomalies identified by the armed forces are about use of different principles, policy, and formula by the 7CPC for determining armed forces pay, allowances, level, rank equivalence, pension, and status in comparison with the civil services, including defence civilians, police and intelligence services. These anomalies they have argued affect morale, command and control, and cohesion.
On 5 September 2016 the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government implemented the recommendations of the 7CPC including those affecting the armed forces with minor modifications. On 7 September 2016, the Chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, wrote to Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister, and Manohar Parrikar, the Defence Minister, conveying their concern about the "unresolved anomalies". They also write and inform their respective commands that they have been "constrained to request the government to hold implementation of 7th CPC award in abeyance in view of the anomalies which need to be resolved". On 14 September 2016 the headquarters of the three services, following assurances at the highest level that anomalies affecting armed forces pay, pension, allowances, rank parity, and status would be addressed, issued instructions to their commands to implement the government decision.
On 30 January 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his nod to The 7th Pay Commission's suggestion of increasing the monthly salary of Chief Justice of India (CJI) to Rs 2.80 lakh per month from the present Rs 1 lakh per month, besides recommending a salary hike of the judges of the Supreme Court and the 25 High Courts in India.
Background The 7CPC was constituted against the background of the protracted public protest by ex-servicemen, including by senior officers, that started following the 6th CPC in 2008. These protest highlighted the perceived neglect of the armed forces on matters affecting their pay, pension status, levels, especially in comparison with police officers, and defence civilians, who were granted time bound promotions to the highest ranks, Non Functional Upgrade (NFU), and One Rank, One Pension (OROP) by the UPA Government.
To address the dissatisfaction in the armed forces over pay and allowances, the government added an additional term of reference(TOR), not included 5th and 6th Pay Commission, that enjoined the 7th CPC, "to review the principles and structure of emoluments of defence service personnel having regard to the historical and traditional parities". The government did not agree to Armed Forces representation in the CPC. Since the 4th Central Pay Commission (1986), when the concept of rank pay was introduced for the armed forces, pay commission recommendations affecting armed forces pay, and status, relative to civilian government employees, including the police, which wear rank badges similar to the army, have been cause of disappointment and disaffection in the armed forces.
Pay scale(s) Defence Pay Matrix Sources:
+ Pay Matrix (Basic Pay) (Indian Armed Forces Personnel - except Military Nursing Service)All pay scale values are expressed in Indian rupees (INR) unless otherwise mentionedAll values listed refer to monthly pay components unless stated otherwise, such as one-time grants, annual allowances, or post-retirement benefits. Pay Band 5200-20200 9300-34800 15600-59100 37400-67000 67000-79000 75500-800008000090000 Grade Pay 2000 2400 2800 3400 4200 4600 4800 5400 5400 6100 6600 8000 8700 8900 10000 Level 3 4 5 5A 6 7 8 9 10 10B 11 12A 13 13A 14 15 16 1718Rank Group Other Ranks (OR)Junior Commissioned officers (JCO)Commissioned Officers 1 21700 25500 29200 33200 35400 44900 47600 53100 56100 61300 69400 116700 125700 139600 144200 182200 205400 225000 250000 2 22400 26500 30100 34200 36500 46200 49000 54700 57800 63100 71500 120200 129500 143800 148500 187700 211600 3 23100 27100 31000 35000 37600 47600 50500 56300 59500 65000 73600 123800 133400 148100 153000 193300 217900 4 23800 27900 31900 36400 38700 49000 52000 58000 61300 67000 75800 127500 137400 152500 157600 199100 224400 5 24500 28700 32900 37500 39900 50500 53600 59700 63100 69000 78100 131300 141500 157100 162300 205100 6 26000 30600 33900 38600 41100 52000 55200 61500 65000 71100 80400 135200 145700 161800 172200 211300 7 26800 30500 34900 39800 42300 53600 56900 63300 67000 73200 82800 139300 150100 166700 177400 217600 8 26800 31400 35900 41000 43600 55200 58600 65200 69000 75400 85300 143500 154600 171700 182700 224100 9 27600 32300 37000 42200 44900 56900 60400 67200 71100 77700 87900 148700 159200 176900 188200 10 28400 33500 38100 43500 46200 58600 62200 69200 73200 80000 90500 152200 164000 182200 193800 11 29300 34500 39200 44800 47600 60400 64100 71300 75400 82400 93200 156800 168900 187700 199600 12 30200 35500 40400 46100 49000 62200 66000 73400 77700 84900 96000 161500 174000 193300 205600 13 31100 36400 41600 47500 50500 64100 68000 75600 80000 87400 98900 166300 179200 199600 211800 14 32000 37500 42800 48900 52000 66000 70000 77900 82400 90000 101900 171300 184600 205600 218200 15 33600 38600 44100 50400 53600 68000 72100 80200 84900 92700 105000 176400 190100 211800 16 34600 39800 45400 51000 55200 70000 74300 82600 87400 95000 108200 181700 195800 218200 17 35800 41000 46800 53300 56900 72100 76500 85100 90000 98400 111400 187200 201700 18 36100 42200 48200 55100 58600 74300 78800 87700 92700 101400 114700 192800 207800 19 37200 43500 49600 56800 60400 76500 81200 90300 95500 104400 118100 198600 214000 20 38300 48800 51100 58550 62200 78800 83600 93000 98400 107500 121600 204600 21 39400 46100 52600 60300 64100 81200 86100 95800 101400 110700 125200 210700 22 40000 47500 54200 62100 66000 83600 88700 98700 104400 114000 129000 23 41800 48900 55800 64000 68000 86100 91400 101700 107500 117400 132900 24 43100 50400 57500 65900 70000 88700 94100 104880 110700 120900 136900
Additional Allowance(s) + General Pay Components & Allowances (Indian Armed Forces – 7th CPC) Pay/Allowance Amount (₹) Eligibility Remarks / Citation Military Service Pay (MSP) ₹15,500 (Officers), ₹5,200 (JCOs/ORs) All personnel below Brigadier or equivalent 7th CPC, MoD Order No. 1(6)/2016-D(Pay/Services) Dearness Allowance (DA) ~50% of Basic Pay (as of July 2024) All personnel Revised twice a year; applicable on Basic + MSP House Rent Allowance (HRA) 27%, 18%, or 9% of Basic Pay Based on city category (X/Y/Z) MoF O.M. No. 2/5/2017-E.II(B) Transport Allowance ₹900 – ₹7,200 + DA All; varies by level and city class As per MoF rules; higher for PwD Dress Allowance ₹20,000 (Officers), ₹10,000 (JCOs/ORs) Annual, all personnel Replaces old uniform-related allowances Kit Maintenance Allowance ~₹20,000/year (estimated) All Gear upkeep; varies across services Leave Travel Concession (LTC) Sleeper/AC 3 travel for NCOs, AC 2 travel or airfare for JCOs and officers All personnel Includes dependent travel; per MoD LTC rules Children Education Allowance ₹2,250/month/child (max 2) All personnel ₹6,750/month for hostel subsidy Instructional Allowance ₹2,250 Instructors in training institutes For postings at academies, SIs Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA) 20-25% of Basic Pay Only for commissioned Medical Officers MoD O.M. No. 1(7)/2016-D(Pay/Services); subject to apex pay ceiling Special Forces Allowance ₹25,000/month For MARCOS, Para SF, Garud SF Flying Allowance ₹25,000/monthFor qualified aviators in Army Aviation Corps, Indian Naval Air Arm and IAFOnly applicable for commissioned officers Risk & Hardship (R&H) Allowance Applicable for areas like Kashmir LoC, IED- prone zones, ie R1H2. R2H2 for desert and remote areas and R2H1 for MoD designated areas.Applicable for all personnelSiachen Allowance Officers (₹42,500) & JCO/OR (₹30,000)R1H1, ie most extreme designated area.Parachute Pay/Parachute Jump Instructor Allowance₹10,500Only for qualified personnel posted in Parachute Regiment.High Altitude Allowance
Additional Indian Navy specific allowances Allowance Type Officers (₹/month) Sailors (₹/month) Remarks Sea-Going Allowance (SGA) ₹10,500 ₹5,300 For personnel posted onboard operational ships Submarine Duty Allowance ₹15,750 ₹10,500 For qualified submarine crew (SSK, SSBN, etc.) Submarine Technical Allowance ₹15,750 ₹10,500 For technical trades (e.g. electrical, mechanical) in subs MARCOS (Marine Commando) Allowance ₹25,000 ₹17,300 For trained MARCOS personnel only Diving Allowance ₹10,500 ₹5,300 For qualified clearance/diving personnel Hard Area Allowance ₹6,000 – ₹16,900 ₹6,000 – ₹16,900 For postings in A&N Islands, NE, remote naval bases Technical Allowance (Group X/Y) – ₹3,600 (X), ₹1,600 (Y) For technical trades (engine, sonar, radar, etc.) Instructional Allowance ₹3,600 ₹2,700 For instructors at training establishments (e.g. INS Chilka) Uniform Allowance ₹20,000/year ₹20,000/year For uniform purchase and upkeep; annual reimbursement Flying Allowance (Naval Aviators) ₹25,000 – For pilots in Naval Air Arm (e.g. MiG-29K, ALH, Dornier) Counter Insurgency Allowance ₹25,000 ₹17,300 If deployed in CI/CT zones (e.g. NE, Kashmir) High Altitude Allowance ₹3,400 – ₹5,300 ₹2,400 – ₹3,600 If posted in high-altitude naval units (e.g. Leh detachment)
Civilian Pay Matrix + 7th CPC Civilian Pay Matrix – Government of India Pay Level Starting Basic Pay (₹) Maximum Pay (₹) Group C Level 1 18,000 56,900 Level 2 19,900 63,200 Level 3 21,700 69,100 Level 4 25,500 81,100 Level 5 29,200 92,300 Group B Level 6 35,400 1,12,400 Level 7 44,900 1,42,400Group B Level 8 47,600 1,51,100 Level 9 53,100 1,67,800 Group A Level 10 56,100 1,77,500 Level 11 67,700 2,08,700 Level 12 78,800 2,09,200 Level 13 1,23,100 2,15,900 Level 13A 1,31,100 2,16,600 Level 14 1,44,200 2,18,200 Level 15 1,82,200 2,24,100 Level 16 2,05,400 2,24,400 Level 17 2,25,000 2,25,000 (Fixed) Level 18 2,50,000 2,50,000 (Fixed)
Composition of 7CPC The commission consisted of three members, and one member secretary. The 1st CPC (1947) had no member secretary. Since then all pay commissions have had a member secretary, usually from the IAS. +Table 1 Composition of the 7CPC NameTitleBackgroundRemarks 1Ashok Kumar MathurChairmanFormer Judge, Supreme Court of India, and Chairman, Armed Forces Tribunal2Vivek RaeMemberIndian Administrative Service (IAS), Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Earlier in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) as Director General (Acquisition) until 2012Rae, in a break from the past, disagreed with some of the recommendations favoured by Mr Mathur, including on his recommendation favouring police parity with IAS, and on NFU.3Rathin Roy Member [part time]Director, NIPFPRoy, disagreed with Mr Mathur a appended a dissent note including on Non Functional Upgrade (NFU). Roy and Mr Rae, in their dissent note, the only time in the history of pay commissions members disagreed with the chairman, concluded that the Indian bureaucracy and Police have set a world record "for career progression in government bureaucracies", by recklessly de-linking "promotions from career progression"Ms Meena AgarwalSecretaryRailway Accounts Service, 1981 batch. OSD, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance
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