A big holi gift related to the 7th Pay Commission awaits the Central Government employees. The government is offering a Special Festival Allowance Scheme before Holi. This is special in particular since the scheme was not there when the 7th Pay Commission was implemented.
Under the 6th Pay Commission, there was a provision of Rs 4,500 advance. However this year, the CG employees can take an advance of Rs 10,000 without any interest. The last date to avail the Special Festival Allowance Scheme is March 31 2021.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the advance being given will be pre-loaded. This money would already be in the accounts of the CG employees and all they need to do is spend it. This interest free advance can be returned in 10 easy instalments and all government employees will be given this loan in the form of prepaid RuPay card. The state governments have the option of offering festive advance on the lines of the festive advance providing by the Union Government.
Under the 6th Pay Commission a festive advance of Rs 4,500 was made available for. Non-gazetted officers. Now the government is giving Rs 10,000 advance and this has been included under the 7th Pay Commission. This advance is for this year and the money will have to be spent before March 31 2021.
Meanwhile on the restoration of the three pending allowance regarding DA, Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Anurag Thakur said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha, that three pending instalments of Dearness Allowances of central government employees and Dearness Relief for pensioners to be restored prospectively. The rates will be subsumed in the cumulative revised rates of DA.
