Nirmala Sitharaman briefed about 7th Pay Commission, but is it her priority

New Delhi, June 04: After Nirmala Sitharaman took over India's Finance Minister, the Expenditure Department briefed her on several issues including the 7th Pay Commission.

The department also briefed her on other issues such as the flagship programmes and finances, state finances among other things.

Things had come to a standstill owing to the model code of conduct, but with a new finance minister in place, Central Government employees now have a ray of hope that their concerns would be addressed.

The question is whether this issue would be looked into on a priority basis. Highly unlikely says a source. During the briefing she was told about the major policy work that the finance ministry is dealing with, which includes the upcoming union budget 2018-19 and also the Centre's fiscal road map and borrowing programme.

Further the briefing also dealt with the latest macroeconomic data, which included gross domestic product numbers, inflation and fiscal deficit.

For Sitharaman, the issue relating to the CG employees is not new. Before she was elevated as Defence Minister in the previous government, she was a minister of state for finance and also the minister for commerce.

The issue would be on the mind of the finance minister, but the big question is how long would it take to resolve. The CG employees are unhappy with the Rs 18,000 recommendation made by the 7th Pay Commission and have been demanding a basic minimum pay of Rs 26,000.