New Delhi, Aug 15: The much-awaited hike in minimum pay beyond the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission or 7th CPC found no mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on the country's 72nd Independence Day. There had been reports that PM Modi would announce a hike in minimum pay beyond the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission on August 15.

In his speech from the ramparts of the historical site Red Fort, PM Modi spoke on a range of issues including One Rank One Pension (OROP) but didn't announce to raise minimum pay beyond the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. Earlier, a report claimed the government is likely to increase minimum pay to Rs 20,000 from Rs 18,000 that was recommended by the 7th Pay Commission.

The report had added that PM Modi would make the major announcement on the Independence Day. However, his speech dashed the hope of lakhs of central government employees. Though the Official Side of the National Anomaly Committee (NAC) agreed to address the anomaly of the pay matrix, there is no certainty on the announcement of hike in minimum pay.

The 7th Pay Commission had proposed to hike minimum pay from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000 per month with fitment factor 2.57 for lower-level central government employees. The recommendation was approved by the Cabinet and came into force from January 1, 2016. Since then, the employees have been demanding to raise minimum pay to Rs 26,000 with fitment factor 3.68.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 15, 2018 11:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).