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8th Pay Commission: Dearness Allowance to HRA - List of 95 allowances accepted by 7th CPC
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8 min read | Updated on March 04, 2025, 15:32 IST
SUMMARY
As the formation of the 8th pay commission is expected to gain further momentum in the coming weeks, it would be interesting to look back at how the 7th CPC dealt with various allowances offered to central government employees.
The 7th CPC examined as many as 196 allowances. | Image source: Shutterstock
The process of 8th Pay Commission formation started after the announcement of the new pay panel by the central government in January 2025. It is expected that the Terms of Reference of the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) will be finalised by next month.
The staff side of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) recently suggested that the Terms of Reference of the 8th pay commission should include examination of the existing pay, allowances and other benefits available to the central government employees.
They also suggested that 8th CPC should determine the percentage of dearness allowance/dearness relief to be merged with the pay and pension.
A similar situation regarding the examination of allowances was faced by the 7th pay commission. Its terms of reference explicitly tasked it to "review the variety of existing allowances presently available to employees in addition to pay and suggest their rationalisation and simplification, with a view to ensuring that the pay structure is so designed as to take these into account."
As the formation of the 8th pay commission is expected to gain further momentum in the coming weeks, it would be interesting to look back at how the 7th CPC dealt with various allowances.
The following is the list of 95 allwoances that were accepted (either retained or rationalised) by the 7th CPC:
Full list of allowances accepted by the 7th CPC
| Name of the allowance | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Aeronautical Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50%. |
| Air Worthiness Certificate Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50%. |
| Annual Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50%. Extended to some more categories. |
| Antarctica Allowance | Retained. Rationalised. To be paid as per Cell RH-Max of the newly proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix. |
| Bhutan Compensatory Allowance | Retained. Status Quo to be maintained. |
| Boiler Watch Keeping Allowance | Retained. Rationalised. To be paid as per Cell R3H1 of the newly proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix. |
| Book Allowance | Retained. Status Quo to be maintained. |
| Briefcase Allowance | Retained. Status Quo to be maintained. |
| Canteen Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50%. |
| Children Education Allowance (CEA) | Retained. Procedure of payment simplified. |
| CI Ops Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. |
| Classification Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50%. |
| COBRA Allowance | Retained. Rationalised. To be paid as per Cell R1H1 of the newly proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix. |
| Compensatory (Construction or Survey) Allowance | Retained. Rationalised. To be paid as per Cell R3H2 of the newly proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix. |
| Composite Personal Maintenance Allowance (CPMA) | Retained. Rationalised. Enhanced by 50%. Extended to some more categories. |
| Constant Attendance Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50%. |
| Conveyance Allowance | Retained. Status Quo to be maintained. |
| Cooking Allowance | Retained. Rationalised. To be paid as per Cell R3H3 of the newly proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix. |
| Cost of Living Allowance | Retained. Status Quo to be maintained. |
| Daily Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. |
| Daily Allowance on Foreign Travel | Retained. Status Quo to be maintained. |
| Dearness Allowance (DA) | Retained. Status Quo to be maintained. |
| Deputation (Duty) Allowance for Civilians | Retained. Ceilings enhanced by 50%. |
| Deputation (Duty) Allowance for Defence Personnel | Retained. Ceilings enhanced by 50%. |
| Detachment Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Enhanced by 50%. |
| Diving Allowance, Dip Money and Attendant Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50% |
| Educational Concession | Retained. Rationalized. Extended to more categories |
| Family HRA Allowance | Retained. Status Quo maintained |
| Field Area Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Fixed Medical Allowance (FMA) | Retained. Status Quo maintained |
| Flying Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R1H1 of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Free Fall Jump Instructor Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R2H2 of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Good Service/Good Conduct/Badge Pay | Retained. Enhanced by a factor of 2.25 |
| Hard Area Allowance | Retained. Rationalized by a factor of 0.8 |
| Hardlying Money | Retained. Rationalized. Full Rate to be paid as per Cell R3H3 of the newly proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Health and Malaria Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. To be paid as per Cell R3H3 of the newly proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| High Altitude Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Higher Qualification Incentive for Civilians | Retained. Rationalized |
| Holiday Monetary Compensation | Retained. Rationalized |
| Hospital Patient Care Allowance/Patient Care Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. To be paid as per Cell R1H3 of the newly proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| House Rent Allowance (HRA) | Retained. Rationalized by a factor of 0.8 |
| Hydrographic Survey Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Internet Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Island Special Duty Allowance | Retained. Rationalized by a factor of 0.8 |
| Language Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50% |
| Language Award | Retained. Enhanced by 50% |
| Leave Travel Concession (LTC) | Retained. Rationalized |
| MARCOS and Chariot Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R1H1 of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Medal Allowance | Retained |
| Messing Allowance | Retained for “floating staff” under Fishery Survey of India. Enhanced by 50%. Abolished for Nursing Staff |
| Mileage Allowance for journeys by road | Retained |
| Mobile Phone Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Monetary Allowance attached to Gallantry Awards | Retained. Status Quo maintained |
| National Holiday Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50% |
| Newspaper Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Night Duty Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA) | Retained. Rationalized by a factor of 0.8 |
| Nuclear Research Plant Support Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50% |
| Nursing Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Orderly Allowance | Retained. Status Quo maintained |
| Para Allowances | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R2H2 of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Para Jump Instructor Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R2H2 of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Parliament Assistant Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50% |
| PCO Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Post Graduate Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50% |
| Professional Update Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50%. Extended to more categories |
| Project Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R3H2 of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Qualification Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50%. Extended to more categories |
| Qualification Pay | Retained. Enhanced by a factor of 2.25 |
| Ration Money Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Refreshment Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by a factor of 2.25 |
| Reward for Meritorious Service | Retained. Enhanced by a factor of 2.25 |
| Sea Going Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R2H2 of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Siachen Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell RH-Max of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Special Allowance for Child Care for Women with Disabilities | Retained. Enhanced by 100% |
| Special Allowance to Chief Safety Officers/Safety Officers | Retained. Rationalized by a factor of 0.8 |
| Special Duty Allowance | Retained. Rationalized by a factor of 0.8 |
| Special Forces Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R1H1 of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Special Incident/Investigation/ Security Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Special LC Gate Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R3H3 of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Special Running Staff Allowance | Retained. Extended to more categories |
| Specialist Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50% |
| Split Duty Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50% |
| Submarine Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R1H1 of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Submarine Duty Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R3H1 of Risk and Hardship Matrix, pro-rata |
| Submarine Technical Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R3H3 of Risk and Hardship Matrix. Extended to more categories |
| Subsistence Allowance | Retained. Status Quo maintained |
| TA for Retiring Employees | Retained. Rationalized |
| TA on Transfer | Retained. Rationalized |
| Tenure Allowance | Retained. Ceilings enhanced by 50% |
| Test Pilot and Flight Test Engineer Allowance | Retained. Rationalized. Paid as per Cell R1H3 of Risk and Hardship Matrix |
| Training Allowance | Retained. Rationalized by a factor of 0.8. Extended to more categories |
| Transport Allowance (TPTA) | Retained. Rationalized |
| Travelling Allowance | Retained. Rationalized |
| Unit Certificate and Charge Certificate Allowance | Retained. Enhanced by 50% |
Source: 7th CPC
The 7th CPC examined as many as 196 allowances offered to the government employees. Out of them, it rejected over 100 allowances.
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