Tamil Nadu Boosts Welfare for Government Employees with Nine Key Announcements

Chennai – Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced nine significant welfare measures for state government employees in the Legislative Assembly on Monday, recognizing their crucial role as the "pillars of administration."¹

Stalin emphasized the government's appreciation for the employees' hard work in implementing various public schemes, contributing to Tamil Nadu's leading position in India.² The announcements, aimed at improving the financial and personal well-being of government staff, include:

1. Earned Leave Surrender: Employees can surrender up to 15 days of earned leave for cash benefits, effective October 1, costing the government an additional Rs 3,561 crore annually and benefiting approximately 8 lakh employees and teachers.³
2. Dearness Allowance (DA) Hike: A 2% DA increase, mirroring the central government's decision, will be implemented from January 2025, benefiting 16 lakh employees, pensioners, and family pensioners, at a cost of Rs 1,252 crore annually.⁴
3. Festival Advance Increase: The festival advance for employees is doubled from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000.⁵
4. Education Advance Increase: Education advances for employees' children are raised to Rs 1,00,000 for vocational education and Rs 50,000 for arts, science, and polytechnic courses.⁶
5. Marriage Advance Equality: The marriage advance is standardized at Rs 5,00,000 for all employees, regardless of gender, up from the previous Rs 10,000 for women and Rs 6,000 for men.⁷
6. Pongal Bonus Increase: The Pongal bonus for retired C & D category staff, individual pensioners, and family pensioners is doubled from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000, benefiting 4.71 lakh individuals.⁸
7. Pensioner Festival Advance Increase: The festival advance for pensioners is raised from Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000, benefiting 52,000 pensioners.⁹
8. Old Pension Scheme Review: A committee studying the Old Pension Scheme, Contributory Pension Scheme, and Integrated Pension Scheme is directed to submit its report by September 30.
9. Maternity Leave Inclusion: Maternity leave will now be counted towards the probation period, protecting the service rights of female employees.¹⁰