The Union Cabinet is expected to take up a report on the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission on Wednesday, June 29. Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa said on Monday that the Empowered Committee of Secretaries, which was set up to analyse the panel’s suggestions, had finalised its report. “The committee very recently had their last meeting. They have taken a final decision. Now, we are waiting for the minutes of the meeting,” Lavasa said.

The pay commission had submitted its report in November last year. The committee, headed by Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha, was constituted by the Centre in January to look into the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations, which include a minimum monthly basic salary of Rs 18,000 and a maximum of Rs 2,50,000 – a 23.6% hike in salaries and pensions of central government employees. Its suggestions will alter the salary structures of 52 lakh pensioners and 47 lakh central government employees, The Indian Express reported.

The Centre had said earlier that an interim allocation for a number of ministries had been made in the Union Budget for 2016-17, without specifying the amount allocated to include the pay panel’s proposals. If the recommendations are approved, the Centre’s total expenditure on salaries and pensions is expected to jump Rs 1.02 lakh crore, including Rs 28,450 crore in the Railway Budget. The implementation of the recommendations is also expected to have a considerable impact on inflation.