What has sparked the debate

The reason why everyone feels that the pay hike would be effected is because the Centre is planning to hike the basic pay of Central Government employees by raising the fitment factor three times.

Government wants chapter closed

The government does not want any further speculation on the matter. There are deliberations and discussions on in this regard. A source said that the government wants to close this matter once and for all.

Important for 2019 elections

The government is also aware that this issue matters to a large section. There are 1 crore people who will be affected by this decision. Both CG employees and pensioners put together account for at least 1 crore people. This is a huge vote bank and for the 2019 elections, this is an important issue. With talks of the elections being advanced, the pay hike may come in April. Most of these people are unlikely to vote for the NDA if a pay hike is not effected.

7th Pay Commission hike by April

CG employees and pensioners were unhappy with the 7th Pay Commission recommendations. The government had recommended it with 34 modifications. All sources indicate that the hike will come in April. However there would be no arrears, the sources also confirmed.