World | India
Indian President signs Bill for huge hike in own salary
Compensation raise for First Citizen and vice-president to take effect from this month.
- IANS
- Published: 23:19 January 3, 2009
New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil has given her assent to the law enabling a three-fold hike in her salary from Rs50,000 (Dh4,166) to Rs150,000 per month.
While signing a Bill into law to hike her own salary on December 30, Patil also assented to another law providing for Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari's pay to be raised from Rs40,000 to Rs125,000 per month.
The two laws amending the salaries of president and the vice-president were notified in the government's official gazette on December 31.
Although Patil and Ansari would start getting enhanced salaries from the current month, they would be deemed to have had their pay hiked from January 2006 itself.
So the president and the vice-president will be getting a tidy sum of Rs3.6 million and Rs3.06 million respectively in arrears.
The salary hike has been extended to former presidents and vice-presidents as well. The President's Emoluments and Pension (Amendment) Act 2008 and the Vice-President's Pension (Amendment) Act 2008 also provide for a quantum rise in their pension and other post-retirement benefits.
Pension
Accordingly, former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will get a pension of Rs75,000 per month instead of Rs25,000. Similarly, former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat will get a pension of Rs62,500 instead of Rs20,000.
As per the new law, former presidents would also get two telephones, one with internet connectivity, and one mobile phone with national roaming facility.
As of now, the law provides for a rent-free furnished residence along with one phone and a motor car to former presidents.
The new law has also raised the total number of secretarial staff and peons for the former presidents from three to five. The total emoluments for the former president's secretarial staff has also been raised from Rs12,000 to Rs60,000.
Furnished residence
The new laws on the pensions for former president and vice-presidents also take care of their spouses. The law provides for furnished residence, a telephone and a car besides the support of three secretarial staff to the spouse of a late president.
The law has also upgraded the provision of an unfurnished house to the spouse of a late vice president to that of a fully-furnished house along with its maintenance cost to be borne by the government.
The Bill seeking a raise of salary and pensions of the president and the vice president was passed by parliament December 16.
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