Cabinet approves bonus for government employees; 30 lakh to benefit

The decision to approve the bonus was taken during a Wednesday Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The bonus will benefit 16.97 lakh non-gazetted employees of commercial establishments such as Railways, Posts, Defence, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).

Further, the non-productivity-linked bonus or ad-hoc will benefit 13.70 lakh non-gazetted central government employees.

The bonuses are usually announced before Dussehra every year.

The announcement has brought cheer among government employees as there was no indication that a bonus will be announced this year, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bonus will be given in a single installment through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) before Dussehra (October 25), the Union Minister said.

Amid doubts over the bonus announcement, the All India Railways Federation, a union of railways staff, had called for a nationwide two-hour strike on October 22.

The union had demanded an immediate disbursal of the bonus.

Earlier this year, the government had suspended Dearness Allowances (DA) for central government employees, further adding to the uncertainty over the bonus.