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ICSSR institutions face crisis due to delay in 7th Pay Commission
The crisis stems from the delay in implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) revised pay scales, despite the ministry of education issuing an order in January 2016.
New Delhi: Institutions affiliated to the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), the national body that oversees research in the social sciences in the country, have been facing an escalating financial crisis, one that has adversely impacted both recruitment and retention of qualified staff, for the last eight years.
The crisis stems from the delay in implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) revised pay scales, despite the ministry of education issuing an order in January 2016.
“We are being paid salaries that are much lower than our counterparts in other centrally funded institutions, despite being equally or more qualified. It is disheartening to see such apathy towards institutions that contribute immensely to policy research and social sciences in the country,” a professor from a leading ICSSR institution said.
According to faculty members, this underpayment not only affects their daily lives but also undermines their professional morale, making it harder to maintain the quality of work. ICSSR officials as well as the ministry of education declined HT’s multiple requests for a comment on the issue.
According to the 6th CPC, the salary for an ICSSR institute professor is between ₹37,400 and ₹67,000 per month, with an academic grade pay of ₹11,000– ₹22,400. A professor told HT that their salary would have almost doubled had the 7th CPC been implemented.
While the centrally funded institutions had retrospectively implemented the 7th CPC shortly after January 2016 Centre order, the ICSSR was still awaiting permission to have the 7th CPC implemented in its affiliated research institutions, such as the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS).
“We are finding it extremely difficult to recruit new faculty. Whenever we advertise positions, we have to specify that the salary is based on the 6th Pay Commission. And for obvious reasons, no academic wants to apply when the pay is so low compared to other institutions,” a CDS professor said, adding they are finding it difficult to replace the retiring faculty.
Recently, over 300 faculty members and staff from ICSSR institutions wrote a letter to education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flagging the financial hardships caused by the delayed implementation of the 7th CPC. “This prolonged delay in the implementation of the 7th CPC has caused significant financial hardship for both faculty and non-faculty staff at these institutions, which has negatively affected faculty recruitment and retention, with many high-quality faculty departing, gradually destroying these institutions,” the letter read. “The uncertainty with no time-bound assurance has caused immense mental agony, despair, and a sense of neglect and deprivation.”
