JOIN USPM Narendra Modi, Union Cabinet approves 30% pay cut for all MPs for one year
In a reminder of unprecedented times, the President, Prime Minister, Vice President, Governors and all MPs will undertake a 30 per cent salary cut for a year to shore up funds for the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
A meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi on Monday approved an ordinance amending the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954 reducing the salary of the MPs by 30 per cent from April 1. 2020.
There will, however, be no change in the pension and allowances of the MPs as there is no plan to reduce these.
The Union Cabinet also approved temporary suspension of MPLADS during 2020-21 and 2021-22 for managing health and the adverse impact of an outbreak of COVID-19.
Members of Parliament Local Area Development Fund allows an MP to use an annual fund of Rs five crore per annum for development activities in the Parliamentary seat he represents.
In the case of Rajya Sabha, the MP can spend the money on development work anywhere in the state from where he is an MP. Lok Sabha has a strength of 545 members while Rajya Sabha has 245.
Since the suspension of the fund is for two years, the Rs 10 crore MPLAD fund from each member in next two financial years, will go to the Consolidated Fund of India and will add up to nearly Rs 8000 crore to the government treasury at a time when Centre is having to spend thousands of crore to fight the COVID-19 menace, which in all probability, is going to be a long-drawn exercise.
Briefing reporters after the meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that was held via video conferencing perhaps first of its kind in recent times, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the President, Vice President and Governors of States have also voluntarily decided to take a pay cut as a social responsibility. The money will go to the Consolidated Fund of India.
Before the Union Cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister held interaction with central ministers in a separate meeting of the Union Council of Ministers in which he spoke at length about the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.
The Prime Minister said that the government must work on war-footing to mitigate the impact, adding that the Ministries should prepare a Business Continuity Plan.
He noted that a graded plan to slowly open departments where hotspots are not existing should be made, adding that the crisis offers an opportunity to become self-dependent in the medical sector.
There should be continuous monitoring to maintain timelines of the production of essential medicines and protection equipment. Micro level-planning is essential to maintain supply lines and availability of essentials.
Stating that lockdown measures and social distancing must go hand in hand, the Prime Minister said that it is essential to strategize for the emergent conditions once lockdown ends. He asked the ministers to prepare a list of ten major decisions and ten priority areas of focus once lockdown ends while exhorting them to identify and implement pending reforms in their Ministries.
Highlighting the impact on India’s exports, he asked the Ministers to submit actionable suggestions on boosting manufacturing and exports and ensure that new sectors and countries are added in India’s export net.