Indian government approves 200% MPs’ salary hike.
Now MP's take home salary is Rs. 45 Lakh Per annum + other allowances.
MPs on Friday responded to the Cabinet approving a 200% hike in their basic salary—from Rs 16,000 to Rs 50,000—by creating a furore in Lok Sabha. MPs have pegged the discourse on a salary hike to the basic component—one of the 16 parts of their compensation package—of Rs 16,000 per month, or Rs 1.92 lakh a year. This is grossly misleading. If values are imputed to the other 15 components of an MP's package, it works out to—hold your breath—Rs 45 lakh a year. And this is a conservative estimate.
MPs stay in prime locales. They fly business class. They, along with spouse and attendant, are allowed unlimited AC rail travel. Their basic domestic and all working expenses are taken care of. Anil Bairwal, national co-ordinator for the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), says it's a myth that MPs get paid Rs 16,000 a month. "They don't have to pay for water, electricity, telephone, even Internet or travel. It's more or less free and the citizens pay for it," he said. ADR, an NGO that works towards strengthening democracy and governance, was founded by a group of IIM and NID faculty.
This is how companies calculate compensation, or what is called 'cost to company'. By a similar logic, the 'cost to government'—by extension, 'cost to taxpayers'—for an MP's salary would work out to about Rs 45 lakh. Under the terms approved by the Cabinet, it would be Rs 60 lakh, or 10 times their basic salary.
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