Latest news with #DepartmentofExpenditure
News18
a day ago
- Business
- News18
8th Pay Commission: Delay Likely, But Will All Retirees After January 2026 Get Its Benefits?
Last Updated: The 8th Pay Commission for central government employees and pensioners may be delayed beyond January 1, 2026, but retirees after this date may still benefit from revised pensions. As discussions around the 8th Pay Commission continue among central government employees and pensioners, reports suggest that its implementation is likely to be delayed from the earlier expected date of January 1, 2026. Now, one key question is drawing attention: Will those retiring on or after January 1, 2026, still benefit if the pay commission's recommendations are delayed? 8th Pay Commission: What's The Status? The 8th Central Pay Commission, which will review and revise the salary structure, allowances, and pensions of over 50 lakh central government employees and around 65 lakh pensioners, was announced by the central government in January 2025. Its terms of reference (ToR) and members have not been finalised yet. However, last month, the government issued a circular informing that various vacancies, around 35 posts, will be filled on a deputation basis for the 8th Pay Commission. Pay commissions are typically constituted every 10 years, with the last (7th Pay Commission) being implemented from January 1, 2016. Its term is coming to an end on December 31, 2025. As its chairman, members and ToR have not been finalised yet, widespread expectations point to delay in its implementation to late 2026 or early 2027, against the expected timeline of January 1, 2026. Why Is It Getting Delayed? There has been no formal communication from the Ministry of Finance or the Department of Expenditure on the timeline. However, delays could be attributed to fiscal considerations and alternative pay adjustment mechanisms like the Aykroyd formula and inflation-linked increments, though they have not replaced the need for a full-fledged commission. Yes, if the commission's recommendations are implemented with a retrospective date (as in the past), those retiring after January 1, 2026, will receive revised pension and salary arrears. For example, when the 7th Pay Commission was implemented in 2016, many beneficiaries received arrears for months before the actual rollout date. What Kind of Salary Hike Is Expected? While official figures are yet to emerge, analysts and employee unions speculate that the minimum basic pay may increase from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000, representing a hike of around 40-44 per cent. According to several reports, the fitment factor, a key multiplier for revising salaries, could be 1.96 in the 8th pay commission, although this remains unconfirmed. If the fitment factor is 1.92, then Level 1 government employees may see a salary jump of around Rs 15,000 per month, which is about a 40% increase in take-home pay under the 8th Pay Commission. First Published:
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Centre starts review of schemes ahead of fresh roll-out in April 2026
New Delhi: The Union government on Thursday kicked off a massive exercise to review the schemes it is funding for a fresh roll-out from April next year, said an official statement. The review covers central sector schemes (CSs), which are fully financed by the central government, as well as centrally sponsored ones (CSSs), which are financed by both central and state governments at a pre-defined ratio. Cabinet secretary T.V. Somanathan chaired the review meeting organized by the expenditure department in the finance ministry which was attended by top officials across the government. The review enables the government to avoid overlap of schemes and better target financial resources to eligible beneficiaries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasized that the poor, farmers, the youth and women are central to government welfare initiatives. The policy of evaluation of ongoing schemes and having a sunset date for each scheme was articulated by the government in the Union Budget of 2016. It stated that in order to improve the quality of public expenditure, every scheme will have a sunset date and an outcome review. Later, the schemes have been aligned with the Finance Commission cycles and their continuation is based on the evaluation of each scheme by a third party. During the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary emphasized the rigour of the evaluation process and urged the secretaries of various departments to use its recommendations to recalibrate the design, architecture of the scheme, remove redundancies and ineffective suboptimal interventions, merge schemes and close schemes which have either outlived their utility or have fulfilled their objectives. This will enable optimum deployment of scarce public resources, the statement said. The Finance Commissions decide on the sharing of the central government's divisible pool of tax revenue with states. At present, the Sixteenth Finance Commission led by economist Arvind Panagariya is working on recommendations for tax revenue sharing between central and state governments for the five-year period starting April 2026. The Department of Expenditure provided an overview of the availability of financial resources at the meeting. Secretaries were informed about the norms likely to be used for deciding the resources available to each of the department for their schemes over the next five-year cycle. There are 54 centrally sponsored schemes and 260 central sector schemes which have their terminal date of approval till 31 March and are likely to be submitted to re-appraisal. A majority of these will also require fresh approval of the Cabinet, the statement said. The Department of Expenditure stressed the quality and effectiveness of public expenditure and, in this context, said that such exercises in the past had allowed the central government to enhance its capital expenditure substantially which now stands at ₹ 11.21 trillion for FY26 as per budget estimates. The meeting also discussed universal Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), convergence of various schemes for having a greater impact, eliminating duplication and attaching conditionalities to drive reforms. The implementation of 'just in time release of funds' and avoiding parking of funds with implementing agencies long before funds are needed for utilization was also emphasized at the meeting. This will enable deployment of the savings thus accrued for new schemes or expansion of ongoing schemes, the statement said.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Govt kickstarts exercise for 5-yearly approval of CSSs, CSs
The Finance Ministry on Thursday said the government has kickstarted an elaborate exercise for five yearly appraisals and approval of centrally sponsored schemes and central sector schemes to be made effective from April 1, 2026. The Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance on Thursday organised a workshop chaired by Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan with the Secretaries of various ministries and departments. Finance Secretary Ajay Seth, Expenditure Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam and other senior officers were also present. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Never Put Eggs In The Refrigerator. Here's Why... Car Novels Undo Through the workshop, the government has "initiated an elaborate exercise for 'Appraisal and Approval of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) and the Central Sector Schemes (CSs)' for their continuation over the next five years. The new five-year cycle will start on April 1, 2026, and is aligned with the 16th Finance Commission (FC) cycle," the ministry said. During the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary emphasised the rigour of the evaluation process and urged the secretaries to use its recommendations to recalibrate the design and architecture of the scheme, remove redundancies and ineffective suboptimal interventions, merge schemes and close schemes which have either outlived their utility or have fulfilled their objectives. This will enable optimum deployment of scarce public resources, a finance ministry statement said. Live Events Secretaries were informed about the norms likely to be used for deciding the resource envelopes of each department/ministry for its schemes over the next five-year cycle. There are 54 CSSs and 260 CSs which have their terminal date of approval till March 31, 2026 and are likely to be submitted for re-appraisal. A majority of these will also require fresh approval of the Cabinet. Schemes cover a wide gamut from social sectors like health, women and child development, school and higher education, and tribal welfare to the agriculture sector, urban and rural infrastructure, water and sanitation, environment, scientific research etc. The Department of Expenditure also stressed the quality and effectiveness of public expenditure , and in this context, highlighted that such exercise in the past had allowed the central government to enhance its budgeted capital expenditure substantially, which now stands at Rs 11.21 lakh crore for FY 2025-26. The policy of evaluation of ongoing schemes and having a sunset date for each scheme was articulated by the government in the Union Budget Speech of 2016, which stated that in order to improve the quality of public expenditure, every scheme will have a sunset date and an outcome review. Accordingly, the schemes have been aligned with the Finance Commission cycles, and their continuation is based on the evaluation of each scheme by a third party. The government has been funding the development needs of the country through various CSSs and CSs. While in the case of CSs, the government bears 100 per cent of the cost, in the case of CSSs, the scheme expenditure is shared in a predefined ratio between the central and the state governments. It has been a constant endeavour of the Ministry of Finance to enhance the quality of expenditures made under schemes through contemporaneous design and architecture and better targeting. The Development Monitoring Evaluation Organisation (DMEO) in Niti Aayog conducts an evaluation of the CSSs while the evaluation of the CSs is being conducted by third-party agencies selected by the ministry concerned. PTI
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
MNRE in talks with Department of Expenditure to expedite National Bioenergy Programme assistance
New Delhi: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy ( MNRE ) is in talks with the Department of Expenditure (DoE) under the Finance Ministry to expedite the flow of assistance to the tune of Rs 857 crore for the second phase of the National Bioenergy Programme (NBP), MNRE secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi said today. NBP was launched in November 2022 with an aim to promote waste to energy, biomass, and biogas projects, with a budgetary allocation of Rs 1,700 crore through which the ministry has taken various initiatives to promote biogas and the associated value addition ecosystem in the country. The scheme has supported many briquetting and palletisation plants apart from projects which were processing and making Compressed Bio Gas. It has provided support for Briquette and pellet projects of around 400 tonne capacity. Sarangi said the government was earlier unable to release the required financial commitments because of certain issues in guidelines but the issues have been discussed with the Department of Expenditure and MNRE has found the mechanisms for supporting the industries which have already received clearance. "In Phase I of the project, we got Rs 858 crore, and in phase II we are likely to get another Rs 857 crore for this. We are also in the process of expediting phase 2 in consultation with the Department of Expenditure," Sarangi said, speaking at the bbb Summit here. He also said that the government is ensuring that biowaste material -- including agricultural waste, animal dung, sugarcane bagasse and Municipal Solid Waste -- is being converted for more productive uses like production f Green Hydrogen, Methanol or Syngas. "We have also set up a Bio-Urja portal through which applications can be filed in transparent and streamlined manner. That is expected to be a one stop solution for the applicants who are applying for different projects under MNRE. There are also many ways in which the government has adopted a whole-of-Govt approach covering schemes administered by different ministries," he said. Sarangi said MNRE is also advancing the "Biomass-to-Green Hydrogen" initiative under the National Green Hydrogen Mission and seven R&D projects have been supported to see the feasibility of generation of green hydrogen using the biomass route. The biofuel industry is relatively nascent and small as against solar or wind. To that extent, there are many potential barriers like evolution of feedstock logistics, financing gaps, regulatory coordination required etc. This needs to be addressed.
