Lt Col finally in higher pay band. What does it practically mean for serving and retired officers?

Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will be in our troubled world - Etty Hillesum

In these times of chaos, let us wish and hope for peace. A very happy new year to all readers of this blog. Now back to the topic at hand.

Impact on serving officers
There have been mixed reactions to the news confirming the placement of all Lt Colonels and equivalent in Pay Band-4 with a Grade Pay (GP) of Rs 8000. But if you ask me, there is no reason to feel dejected. We should feel happy that for the time being our Lt Cols are in PB-4 and would not be drawing a total pay package lower than Non Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) officers of Group-A civil services or Selection Grade (SG) officers of the All India Services. The Grade Pay has been tinkered with and lowered but we would keep pursuing the issue and there is nothing like a ‘full stop’ in the labyrinths of administrative strata.

Many people in the civil as well as defence set up were convinced that PB-4 was never going to come through but I’m glad that ultimately we were established in the positive and they in the red. Lt Colonels were wrongly placed equivalent to the Junior Administrative Grade (JAG) by the 6th CPC (PB-3 with GP of Rs 7600) but now have been upgraded to PB-4 with a GP of Rs 8000. The GP of Lt Cols has however been kept lower than NFSG officers of Group-A civil services / SG officers of All India Services who enjoy a GP of Rs 8700.

The upgradation would also practically mean that Lt Colonels shall now draw a higher pay band and a higher GP than the following :

Deputy Secretaries to Govt of India

Directors and Additional Secretaries to State Governments

District Police Chiefs (Known with variable nomenclature as District SPs / Distt SSPs / DCPs)

Non-Functional Selection Grade Officers of the Central Engineering Services

2ICs of Central Police Organisations

Commandants (Junior Grade) of the Indian Coast Guard

Deputy Commissioners / District Magistrates / Collectors of Districts in the Junior Administrative Grade

Scientists ‘D’ of the Technical and Scientific Services

Joint Controllers of Defence Accounts (JCsDA)

Impact on retired officers
Retired Lt Colonels (Selection Grade as well as Time Scale) are also expected to gain from this announcement. The basic pension of pre-2006 Lt Colonels and equivalent would most probably be fixed at Rs 25700 which is higher than the basic pension of NFSG officers of the Group-A services as well as SG officers of the All India Services which is now fixed at Rs 23050. As prior to 6th CPC, the edge in pensions of Lt Cols shall hence continue to operate vis-à-vis their civilian counterparts. Most of the earlier Lt Col retirees were till now drawing a basic pension of Rs 7550 whereas NFSG/SG officers were drawing a basic pension of Rs 7150 but the 6th CPC had altered this advantage to the detriment to Lt Cols who were now granted a basic pension of Rs 17063. Thankfully this has been rectified by the GoM.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Lt Colonels finally in Pay Band-4. What does it practically mean for serving and retired officers?