The recommendations are expected to be submitted in January, a few months ahead of schedule, and the award is likely to come into effect from January 2006.

If salaries are revised to this extent, a central government secretary could see his or her salary go up to around Rs 75,000 - exclusive of other allowances and perks, approximately 36 per cent of current total salary (see chart).

The Fifth Pay Commission had raised salaries by around 30 per cent from January 1996 in line with previous awards. However, this was not commensurate with private sector salary increases. 
 

ANOTHER GRAVY TRAIN
Designation (GoI & equivalent across services)	5th Pay Commission scale (Rs/month)	Including 2004 revision (50% hike) and  DA at 41 % (Rs/month)	Likely increase from 6th Pay Commission*
Secretary	26000 fixed	54990	75000
Addl secretary	22400-24500	47376-51817	64512-70500
Joint secretary	18400-22400	38916-47376	52992-64512
Super time scale	12000-18300	25380-38704	34560-52704
@ Employees also get City Compensatory Allowance, Transport Allowance, or transport. HRA is at 40 % of basic pay @ Some grades could be merged, likely pay figures after 6th Pay Commission are assumptions * This could be the fixation as on 1 Jan 2006, DA installments due after this date (twice a year) will be in addition and calculated as a % of this basic pay.

In 2004, the government raised the basic salary by 50 per cent, but the key pay scales remained unchanged. An additional dearness allowance of 41 per cent is given on this revised basic pay.

Sources said the house rent allowance could also be increased. However, the Commission may cap the rent in grade A-plus cities � Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Sources added that along with pay increases, certain designations at lower levels of the government hierarchy may also be changed to make them more market-oriented.

It is not yet known whether the January report would be the final award or an "interim relief", which is one of the Commission's terms of reference. A government official in the know said there would not be an interim report.

When contacted, a Commission official said, "We are not seeking an extension. We will submit it on schedule."  The Sixth Pay Commission, headed by Justice B N Srikrishna, was constituted last October.

The official added a final decision had not yet been taken on making the award effective from January 2006.

The Sixth Pay Commission, headed by Justice B N Srikrishna, was constituted last October. It comprises Sushama Nath (member-secretary), Ravindra Dholakia and J S Mathur.

The Fifth Pay Commission, which submitted its report in January 1997, had resulted in the government's salary and pension burden increasing from 1.6 per cent of GDP in 1996-97 to 2.3 per cent by 1999-2000. For states, employee compensation rose from 3.8 per cent to 4.7 per cent.