Pay Commission Recommendation for Regulatory Bodies Laudable

The Sixth Pay Commission Report has hogged headlines. An interesting and important recommendation that will help the administration of corporate law is the recommendation on payscales for full-time members of regulatory bodies set up under Acts of the Parliament of India.

The Commission has recommended that Chairmen of bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Competition Commission be paid Rs. 200,000 per month and wholetime members of such bodies ought to be paid Rs. 150,000 per month with housing and car allowance being taken care of by the regulatory body. Should these allowances not be paid, the recommendation is to pay Rs. 300,000 per month to the Chairmen and Rs. 250,000 to the wholetime members.

The Commission has underlined the need to attract outside talent to work in these organisations. This is a crucial recommendation. One hopes the government has the maturity and the will to accept this recommendation. It is tough to motivate people to do social service for the State and incur the obligations of a public office. While these payscales would be nowhere near market rates, they would at least signify the seriousness with which the State would treat these jobs.

The Commission Report, authored by Justice B.N. Srikrishna, who, in his days as a practising lawyer, was an known for his expertise in employment law has made an important contribution to the field of administering law in the corporate sector and the securities market. The Commission has also recommended that a tenure of at least three to five years should be assured in normal circumstances in these positions.