7th Pay Commission: Central Government Employees To Get Rs 10,000 Advance As Holi Gift

The central government is providing its employees with a large Holi gift in the form of a Rs 10,000 advance under the Special Festival Allowance Scheme. This is particularly noteworthy because the Festival Advance Scheme was not in place when the 7th Pay Commission was to be implemented.

A Rs 4,500 advance was made available under the 6th Pay Commission. This year, however, CG employees will get a Rs 10,000 advance with no interest. The Special Festival Allowance Scheme will be available until March 31, 2021.

The advance will be pre-loaded, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This money would already be in the CG employees' accounts, and all they would have to do now is spend it.

This interest-free advance can be paid back in ten simple instalments, and it will be given to all government employees in the form of a prepaid RuPay card. State governments have the option of delivering festive advances similar to those provided by the Union Government.

According to the Sixth Pay Commission, non-gazetted officers and employees were eligible for a festive advance of Rs 4,500. However, the government is now providing a Rs 10,000 advance.

Furthermore, in order to provide relief to its employees and retired pensioners, the central government decided to restore their three pending Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) instalments beginning in July.