Government Increases Civil Servant Salaries by Approximately 21% for Fiscal Year 2083/84

Kathmandu. The government has significantly increased the salary scale of civil servants effective from the upcoming fiscal year 2083/84. In the budget for fiscal year 2083/84, presented by Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle in the joint session of the Federal Parliament on Friday, a decision has been made to increase the salaries of civil servants, which have not been increased for the last four years.

In the budget read by Finance Minister Dr. Wagle, it is mentioned that the 'starting scale' of employees will be increased by 10 percent. In addition, a new salary scale will be introduced with an additional 10 percent 'monthly incentive allowance' based on performance, as stated by Finance Minister Dr. Wagle.

The Finance Minister Dr. Wagle informed that inflation has increased by 17.3 percent in the market and the salary scale has been increased so that civil servants can live with dignity accordingly.

This increased salary scale will be effective from August 1, as stated by Finance Minister Dr. Wagle in the budget speech.

After the implementation of this new arrangement, employees will see an overall increase of approximately 21 percent in their current remuneration.

The government had previously increased the salary of civil servants by 15 percent on August 1, 2079. At that time, the basic salary of the Chief Secretary was Rs 77,211, the highest. Similarly, the salary for a Section Officer was fixed at Rs 43,689. With the current increase of around 21 percent, the minimum remuneration for lower-level employees, including grade, will be around Rs 40,000, and for higher-level employees, it will be over Rs 100,000, as stated by Finance Minister Dr. Wagle during the budget speech.

The Chief Secretary's salary, which was Rs 77,211 in 2079, will now be Rs 93,425 without grade after a 21 percent increase. Additionally, two allowances were announced to be increased since the budget speech of 2079. One allowance of Rs 5,000 and another of Rs 2,000, totaling Rs 7,000, were increased. Finance Minister Dr. Wagle stated in the budget speech that these will continue to be maintained. Adding that, the Chief Secretary's salary without grade will be Rs 104,25.

The salary for a Secretary is Rs 87,219 without grade, and adding Rs 7,000 in allowances makes it Rs 94,219. This will be even higher with the addition of grade and other allowances.

This increase in the salary scale will cover civil servants, the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, health services, parliamentary services, foreign services, teachers in community schools, and civil servants at all levels in various corporations.

Finance Minister Dr. Wagle stated that the government expects that by continuing the current level of dearness allowance and adding performance-based allowances, the livelihood of employees will become easier and public service delivery will also improve positively.

The exact salary scale for each level will be determined after the Ministry of Finance publishes a detailed schedule regarding this.