Election Commission of India Raises Pay for Poll Staff Ahead of Five-State Elections

Overview

• The Election Commission of India, which issued the order Wednesday, raised daily pay and one-time allowances for personnel on election duty.
• Presiding officers move to Rs 500 per day from Rs 350, polling officers to Rs 400 from Rs 250, counting assistants to Rs 450 from Rs 250, and Group D staff to Rs 350 from Rs 200.
• Micro-observers now receive a Rs 2,000 lump sum, and staff on video surveillance, monitoring, accounting, control rooms and call centres shift to Rs 3,000 for Class I/II and Rs 2,000 for Class III.
• Security allowances increase for Central Armed Police Forces and police, with gazetted officers at Rs 4,000 for up to 15 days and inspectors and similar ranks at Rs 3,000 for the same period.
• Daily food allowance jumps to Rs 500 from Rs 150, in the first broad revision since 2014–2016 as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry prepare to vote next month.