In the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Union Cabinet has approved the ordinance amending the salary, allowances and pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954, reducing their salary, allowances and pension by 30 per cent.
Along with it, the President, the Vice President, the Governors of the States have also voluntarily decided to take a pay cut as a social responsibility. "The money will go to the Consolidated Fund of India," said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar.
Since the Narendra Modi-led government announced a pay cut, here is how much the top leaders of the country earn:
The President of the country who is also called is the first citizen of the nation, also earns the highest. The President earns Rs 5 lakhs a month and also gets added benefits.
The Vice President of India earns the second-highest. Along with benefits like medical facilities and accommodation, the VP takes home Rs 4 lakh per month whereas the State Governors earn Rs 3.5 lakh per month.
The Prime Minister of the country earns a monthly salary of Rs 2 lakh and also gets added benefits for being a Member of Parliament also.
The MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha takes home a monthly salary of Rs 1 lakh. Along with the fixed salary, they get Rs 45,000 constituency allowance and Rs 2000 for each Parliamentary session.
He also said the Union Cabinet has approved the temporary suspension of MPLAD Fund of MPs during 2020-21 and 2021-22 for managing health and the adverse impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 in India.
"The consolidated amount of MPLAD Funds for two years -- Rs 7,900 crore -- will go to the Consolidated Fund of India," he added.
Meanwhile, 693 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number to 4067 in India out of which 1445 cases are related to Tablighi Jamaat. 76 per cent cases have been reported in males and 24 per cent in females, said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry.
(With ANI inputs)
