New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: At a time when speculations are rife that the BJP-led Central government will come up with a good news for the lakhs of Central government employees, it seems the Modi government is not in a position to increase the minimum pay further than what has been recommended by the 7th Pay Commission last year.
No doubt the Central government employees have been waiting for a hike but taking into account the current situation and the general election being on the cards, the government cannot handle the financial burden as it is already going through several financial issues, said sources.
As per reports, the Modi government can consider hiking the minimum pay further only if it comes to power again in 2019 as increasing the pay further now may trigger inflation like situation in the country that will further impact the saffron party’s prospects in the upcoming election.
7th Pay Commission – Hope and Disappointment
Meanwhile, the government employees allege that the Centre is dilly-dallying the issue and it has adversely affected their financial position. After much disappointment, the employees had started nurturing hope when International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the Indian economy was getting stronger with each passing day and the country had become the fastest growing economy in the world for 2018 at 7.4 per cent.
Other agency like Fitch is also confident of Indian economy and predicts growth to accelerate to 7.3 per cent in the financial year 2018-2019.
However, the demand of Central government employees suffered a setback when on March 6, a minister from the Modi brigade ruled out any hike in the near future while replying to a question in Parliament.