Government pay hikes: Fiscal prudence please

The 8th Pay Commission is being set up to revise the salaries of an already-privileged class of employees. Unless kept modest, pay hikes are sure to hit the government's finances hard

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The government's decision to set up the 8th Pay Commission for salary revision is hard to reconcile with its oft-vocalized stance in favour of fiscal prudence. Agreed, the period of the 7th Pay Commission, which came into effect in 2016, will end in 2026. So there was a case for setting up a new one. Also, acting a year in advance will give the Centre sufficient time to consider its recommendations. But the timing of the announcement, just three weeks before Assembly polls in Delhi, where India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to dislodge the Aam Aadmi Party from power, suggests an attempt to win brownie points with the electorate. Delhi houses many central employees and even the state government's staff can expect pay hikes in tandem with theirs. What is far from clear is whether these salaries should be raised at all and if the public exchequer can afford to bear the burden of this largesse.