Govt hikes pay packages of regulatory bodies' heads, members

The government has approved revision in pay packages of chairpersons of nine regulatory bodies, including the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), to Rs 4.5 lakh per month with effect from July 1, 2013.

"The Union Cabinet today approved the revision of the consolidated pay package of Chairpersons and full time members of regulatory bodies with effect from July 1, 2013," according to an official statement released on Thursday.

Also, pay packages of full-time members have been hiked to Rs 3.75 lakh per month from July 1, 2013.

However, the members will not be compensated for their costs incurred on car and house.

Besides Sebi and Trai, the revised pay packages will be applicable to the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (Irda), the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) and the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERAI).

Until now, chairpersons of these regulatory bodies were paid Rs 3 lakh per month without house and car allowance, while full-time members were paid Rs 2.50 lakh per month.