7th Pay Commission of India: All You Need to Know

7th Pay Commission of India: All You Need to Know

The 7th Pay Commission was constituted by the Man Mohan Singh government under the chairmanship of Justice A.K. Singh Mathur on 25 September 2013.


The first Pay Commission in India was set up in January 1946 under the chairmanship of Srinivas Varadachariar. The composition of the Pay Commission comes under the Department of Expenditure (Ministry of Finance).

Pay Commission is set up to review the work and pay structure of all civil and military divisions of the Government of India. Respective state governments also implement the recommendations of Pay Commission in their respective states.



The composition of the 7th Pay Commission is done on 25 September 2013 under the chairmanship of the Justice A.K. Singh Mathur. The recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission were implemented since January 1, 2016.

Important facts about the 7th Pay Commission:

1. Minimum Pay: As per the “Aykroyd formula”, the minimum pay in government jobs is recommended to be set at Rs 18,000 per month.

According to Aykroyd formula, the 7th Pay Commission will be the last Pay Commission after which eighth Pay Commission will not be set up. Justice AK Mathur, who is heading the Seventh Pay Commission, said that considering the data available on the basis of the value index, the government should review the salaries of central government employees every year.


2.  Maximum Pay: Rs 2.25 lac per month for Apex Scale and Rs 2.5 lac per month for Cabinet Secretary and others presently at the same pay level.

3.  House Rent Allowance: The Commission recommends that HRA be paid at the rate of 24%, 16%, and 8% of the new Basic Pay for Class X, Y, and Z cities respectively.

The Commission also recommends that the rate of HRA will be revised to 27%, 18%, and 9% respectively when DA crosses 50 percent.

4. Pension: The Pay Commission has recommended a revised pension formula for civil employees including CAPF personnel as well as for Defence personnel, who have retired before 1st January 2016.


5. Gratuity: Enhancement in the ceiling of gratuity from the existing Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. The ceiling on gratuity may be raised by 25% whenever DA rises by 50%.

6. Martyr Status for the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) Personnel: The Pay Commission says if a CAPF Personnel died on duty then the force personnel of CAPFs should be given the status of martyr, at par with the defense forces personnel.