Higher Qualification Incentive for Civilians – 7th Pay Commission Recommendation

Higher Qualification Incentive for Civilians

In general, civilian employees are governed by DoPT’s letter No.1/2/89-Estt.(Pay.I) dated 09.04.1999, wherein a lump-sum one-time incentive ranging from Rs.2,000 to Rs.10,000 is provided to the employee on obtaining higher qualifications. Many civilian organizations have approached the Commission to increase the quantum of this incentive, and bring it at par with that given to the Defence forces personnel.

Analysis and Recommendations

The Commission appreciates the need to encourage acquiring of higher qualifications. At the same time, it is important that the knowledge so acquired is directly relevant to the scope of the employee’s occupation. Hence, the following lump-sum rates of Higher Qualification Incentive are recommended for courses done in fields that are directly relevant to an employee’s job:

Qualification	Amount (RS)
Ph.D. or equivalent	30000
PG Degree/Diploma of duration more than one year, or equivalent	25000
PG Degree/Diploma of duration one year or less, or equivalent	20000
Degree/Diploma of duration more than three years, or equivalent	15000
Degree/Diploma of duration three years or less, or equivalent	10000

The existing conditions regarding the grant of this incentive, as mentioned in DoPT’s letter cited above, will continue to apply, except that Ministries will be free to choose courses on their own. Moreover, the incentive shall be limited to maximum two times in an employee’s career, with a minimum gap of two years between successive grants.

Complete parity of civilian employees with Defence personnel, with regard to the grant of this incentive, is not feasible in view of the different service conditions, mode of recruitment and other factors.