Nearly three-fold hike in UPSC chief's salary

New Delhi: In a bonanza, the Union Public Service Commission chairperson has got a nearly three-fold hike in his monthly salary.

President Pranab Mukherjee has cleared a proposal for the increase in salaries of the chairperson and members of the UPSC.

As per the new norms, "the chairman shall receive a pay of Rs 2,50,000 and each of the other members shall receive a pay of Rs 2,25,000 per mensem".

"The hike in salary was necessitated due to the implementation of the Seventh Central Pay Commission's recommendation that has resulted in an increase of salaries of all Central government employees," a senior government official said.

"The salary of UPSC chief will now be that of Cabinet Secretary and members' monthly remuneration will be that drawn by a secretary-level officer," he said.

According to the official, the chief and members of the UPSC, a constitutional body that conducts the prestigious civil services examination, were getting a monthly salary of Rs 90,000.

The UPSC conducts civil services examination annually in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview-- to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS), among others.

According to the new rules, in the case of a person who immediately before the date of assuming office as the chairman or a member was in receipt or eligible for a pension (other than a disability or wound pension), then the salary would be reduced by the amount drawn by him as the post-retirement benefit.

A new provision has been made for providing pension to a UPSC member for life in case he was not in the service of the Central or state governments, any other body wholly or substantially owned or controlled by the government.

The chairperson and members will also be entitled to travel allowance, medical facilities, Leave Travel Concession, conveyance allowance and such other conditions of service as are for the time-being applicable to equivalent pay in the Central government, the norms said.