New Delhi, March 24: Ahead of Holi festival, the central government is offering its employees an advance of Rs 10,000 under a Special Festival Allowance Scheme. Notably, central government employees will have to spend the amount before March 31, 2021. They will also have to return it in 10 easy installments. This festival-related loan is included in the 7th Pay Commission or 7th CPC. 7th Pay Commission: 'Mera Vetan' App Launched for Jammu and Kashmir Employees, Can Get Details Related to Salary, Increments and Other Allowances.

Under the Special Festival Allowance Scheme, central government employees get an interest-free loan in the form of a prepaid RuPay card once in a year. If a central government employee has not availed of this benefit earlier, s/he can avail of this scheme in the Holi festival. Here it may also be noted that when recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission were implemented, this scheme was not announced. Indian Railways Created 14.14 Lakh Mandays Employment Under Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, Says Piyush Goyal.

Meanwhile, the wait for a hike in minimum wage, under the 7th Pay Commission, is getting longer. A section of the employees were hopeful that entry-level minimum salaries may be revised after the Union Budget of 2021-22. However, the government had not issued any statement on whether this long-pending demand would be considered.

The good news is central government employees and pensioners will get full benefits of dearness allowance starting July 1, with all the three pending installments being restored prospectively. Three installments of DA for central government employees and DR for pensioners, due on January 1, 2020, July 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021, were frozen in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2021 01:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).