TS PRC 2021 Master Scale and its Segments in Revision of Pay Scales

The first Telangana Pay Revision Commission ( TS PRC 2021) for State government employees has recommended a fitment of 7.5 per cent on basic pay besides enhancing the retirement age from 58 years to 60 and also recommended new TS PRC 2021 Master Scale and its Segments in Revision of Pay Scales.

As per the PRC Telangana recommendations, the DA was merged on July 1, 2018, the new scales will come into operation from that day. The government, however, may take a view on the date from which financial benefit would accrue keeping in view its resource position and various demands.

TS PRC 2021 Master Scale: The master scale concept was retained with 32 grades and 80 segments and it was formulated keeping in mind several principles including that the annual increment would range from 3.36 per cent of the pay in initial stages to 2.33 per cent finally and that the periodicity of increase in increment would be three years.

The new scale was evolved by merging DA with basic pay as on July 1, 2018. The minimum pay for the lowest paid employee would be Rs 19,000 per month while the maximum pay suggested for the master scale was Rs 1,62,070 per month, representing a minimum to maximum ratio of 1:8.53.

The minimum pension/family pension should be fixed at Rs.9,700 per month i.e., 50 per cent of the minimum pay in the revised master pay scale.

Master Scale and its Segments

The Pay Revision Commission 1993 introduced the concept of ‘Master Scale’ for the first time. This has the advantage of a single running scale for the entire gamut of the State employment, individual scales assigned to the posts / categories being merely segments thereof and the merit of predictability.

For determining the Master Scale, factors taken into consideration are

1. Minimum and Maximum pay;
2. Number of pay scales;
3. Span of pay scales at various levels;
4. Rates of increments; and
5. Inter – scale relativity.

This concept of ‘Master Scale’ is being continued with slight modifications from time to time by the successive Pay Revision Commissions. This time also the employees and their associations have overwhelmingly endorsed the continuation of ‘Master Scale’, with minor modifications.

The minimum and the maximum having been fixed the issue now for consideration is the number of scales which are to be carved out of the Master Scale and the span of each one of the scales. Keeping in view the predominant view of employees, the Commission recommends the ‘Master Scale’ to comprise of 32 grades and 80 segments.

Since the tradition in the State has been to revise the pay every five years, the DA sanctioned as on 1/7/2018 is subsumed in the Revised Pay Scale. The new Master Scale recommended by this Commission for adoption from 1/7/2018 is as follows in Rupees:

A comparative statement giving the existing Master Scale and the corresponding segments in the revised Master Scale and the span of each of these scales is given in the table.

New Master Scale

19000-640-20920-660-22900-690-24970-720-27130-750-29380-830- 31870-940-34690-1030-37780-1110-41110-1190-44680-1280-48520-1400- 52720-1500-57220-1630-62110-1730-67300-1850-72850-1990-78820- 2140-85240-2270-92050-2420-99310-2560-106990-2760-115270-2960- 124150-3160-133630-3420-147310-3690-162070 (80)

Old Master Scale (existing TS PRC 2015 Master Scale)

13000-390-14170-430-15460-470- 16870-510-18400-550-20050-590- 21820-640-23740-700-25840-760- 28120-820-30580-880-33220-950- 36070-1030-39160-1110-42490-1190- 46060-1270-49870-1360-53950-1460- 58330-1560-63010-1660-67990-1760- 73270-1880-78910-2020-84970-2160- 91450-2330-100770-2520-110850 (80)

Pay Scales

In case of stagnation which should not normally arise, a grant of up to five stagnation increments was recommended. According to the report, the existing practice of following the Central government in sanctioning DA twice a year is to be continued.

Since Central DA rates are based on DA merged scales of January 1, 2016, while the DA as on July 1, 2018, has been merged with the scales now proposed for the State employees, the commission recommends a conversion factor of 0.910 for sanction of DA from January 1, 2019.

It means that for every 1% increase in DA sanctioned by the Centre, the DA to be sanctioned by the State to its employees would be 0.910 per cent for the DA starting from January 1, 2019.

The commission recommended that the Child Care Leave (CCL) be enhanced from 90 days to 120 days in the case of normal children and from 90 days to two years in the case of disabled children, on par with the Central employees. This leave should be granted with a 100 per cent salary for the first 365 days and 80 per cent for the next 365 days.

The CCL can be extended to single male parents who may include unmarried or widower or divorcees. The Special Disability Leave is substituted by a new leave named “Work Related Illness and Injury Leave” (WRILL), and Special Disability Leave for accidental injury and Hospital Leave have been merged with WRILL.

As for medical benefits, the commission has recommended a streamlining cashless treatment under Employees Health Scheme (EHS) collecting one per cent basic pay from employees and one per cent of basic pension from pensioners and creating a ‘separate reserve’ as in case of Arogya Bhadratha.

The expenditure shall be met from the reserve initially and the same shall be recouped from the reimbursement by the government after scrutiny of bills as per the existing rules. It also recommended extension of EHS to retired CPS employees, collecting a lump sum equal to one month pension or as decided by the government at the time of their retirement.

It also recommended that the medical allowance to service pensioners and family pensioners be enhanced from Rs.350 per month to Rs.600 per month.

Main Points

• Enhancing Child Care Leave (CCL) From 90 Days To 120 Days In Case Of Normal Children
• Continuing existing practice of following Gol in sanctioning DA twice a year
• Encouraging employees to go in for house loans from commercial banks by government suitably subsidising interest rates
• Increasing quantum of various loans and advances if such an arrangement is pending
• Streamlining cashless treatment under EHS by collecting 1% basic pay from employees and 1% basic pension from pensioners and creating a ‘separate reserve’
• No special increment for possessing higher qualifications