7th Pay Commission latest: This report will stand in the way of a pay hike

New Delhi, Aug 13: Amidst expectations that there could be some announcement regarding the 7th Pay Commission, there are mixed reports coming in.

There has been a major build up ahead of August 15, the day on which an announcement relating to a hike in basic minimum pay is expected to be made. While there has been a lot of speculation relating to this, there is no confirmation whatsoever as of now.

While deliberations in this regard continue to take place, there is a large section which is not in favour of a pay hike beyond the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. Many are citing a report of the Reserve Bank of India.

The RBI it may be recalled had said that inflation rates had increased on account of the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission. The revised HRA came into force in July 2017 following the implementation of the pay panel's recommendations.

Many say that the proposal to hike the salaries would face a stumbling block from the RBI. The RBI it may be recalled had decided to increase the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent. The reverse rep rate had been hiked to 6.25 per cent, the RBI had said after its three day Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

"RBI's Monetary Policy Committee has decided to increase the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 6.5% Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.25% and marginal standing facility rate and Bank Rate to 6.75%," it had said in a statement.

With these factors in place, it looks increasingly difficult for the government to take any decision relating to the 7th Pay Commission. For now, there is no official confirmation whatsoever, but one would have to see, if the government would take a hard call and announce some good news for the Central Government employees.