NITI Aayog to increase pay by 36 per cent to attract young professionals

By NewsGram Staff Writer

With an eye to draw the best talent, the National Institution for Transforming India(NITI Aayog) has decided to pay up to 36 per cent higher salaries to young professionals (YPs), along with capping the age limit at 32 years.

The decision is in line with the government's efforts to bring in younger people to contribute to policymaking at the think tank that replaced the erstwhile Planning Commission.

According to the revised guidelines issued recently, the Aayog has fixed the salary of young professionals, at Rs 40,000-70,000 per month including the transport allowance, with an annual increase of Rs 5,000.

This is a 27-36 per cent jump from the Rs 31,500-51,500 pay entitlements of YPs guaranteed by the previous commission.

Apart from the pay increase, the revised guidelines have reduced the upper age limit by eight years from the earlier cap of 40 years.

"NITI Aayog seeks to engage 20 YPs with an aptitude for public policy and development under the Young Professionals Programme," the Aayog has said in an advertisement inviting applications for the programme.

Back in May 2014, the commission had revised the guidelines for YPs, resulting in a 20 per cent increase in salaries over 2009.

The concept was first introduced by the commission's then deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Under the previous commission, the YPs were entitled to a reimbursement of second AC train fare as transport allowance and a daily allowance of Rs 750 if they travelled out of the city for project related work.

"Though the current advertisement is for hiring 20 YPs only we may see the number go up as the work flows in," an official told ET, referring to the likelihood of increase in number of YPs.

At any given time in a year, the maximum number of YPs at the Aayog were pegged at 60 while the entire hiring process was centralised and recruitment restricted to twice a year, depending on the requirement of various divisions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi replaced the commission with the Aayog on January 1 this year, and the institution is about to hire the first batch of YPs under the current government.