New Delhi: Central government employees can get incentives for acquiring new higher qualifications. The incentive amount for employees who hold higher degrees, such as a Ph.D., is Rs 30,000. Following the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendation, Central Government Servants who obtain fresh higher qualifications after joining the service receive this incentive in the form of a one-time lump-sum payment.
Central Government employees who acquire higher qualifications after joining the service are entitled to receive a one-time lump-sum amount ranging from Rs 2000 to Rs 10,000, as per this Office Memorandum dated 2019 from the Department of Personnel & Training.
reviewed the rates of incentives.
It was decided in 2019 by the government that in supersession of all the existing orders/OMs/instructions/guidelines on the subject of granting incentive for acquiring fresh higher qualifications, the following one-time lump-sum rates as incentive for acquiring fresh higher qualification by a Government employee shall be permissible for courses in fields that are directly relevant to the employee’s job:
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| Ph.D. or equivalent. | Rs 30,000 |
| PG Degree/Diploma of duration more than one year, or equivalent. | Rs 25,000 |
| PG Degree/Diploma of duration one year or less, or equivalent. | Rs 20,000 |
| Degree/Diploma of duration more than three years, or equivalent. | Rs 15,000 |
| Degree/Diploma of duration three years or less, or equivalent. | Rs 10,000 |
According to the OM, the incentive is not available for the qualifications that are listed in the recruitment rules for the post as essential or desirable.
It shall not be encouraged to obtain higher qualifications purely in academic or literary subjects. The acquisition of the qualification should be directly related to the functions of the post held by him/her, or to the functions to be performed in the next higher post. There should be direct nexus between the functions of the post and the qualification acquired and that it should contribute to the efficiency of the government servant.
The incentive would be given only for higher qualification acquired after induction into service and it shall be limited to maximum two times in an employee’s career, with a minimum gap of two years between successive grants.
