From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Oct 29: Senior IAS officer Pankaj Jain (Assam-Meghalaya cadre), current working as Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, will be taking charge as member secretary of the Eighth Central Pay Commission soon, according to official sources.
The Central Pay Commission is a body established by the Government of India to review and recommend changes to the salary structure, allowances, and service conditions of central government employees and pensioners.
The three-member commission comprises Chairman, Justice (Retd) Mrs Ranjana Prakash Desai, who is currently chairman of the Press Council of India.
Jain is an IAS officer from the 1990 batch of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce and an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi. He is also an associate of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India.
Before becoming the Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, he served in various roles in the Ministry of Finance, the governments of Assam and Meghalaya, and also worked with the British international aid agency DFID. He was also Principal Resident Commissioner of Meghalaya House in New Delhi for quite some time.
The Union Cabinet approved the Terms of Reference for the 8th Central Pay Commission on Tuesday. The commission has 18 months from its constitution to submit its report, with the recommendations expected to be effective from January 1, 2026.
The recommendations are expected to benefit nearly 50 lakh central government employees and 69 lakh pensioners.
