NEW DELHI: The seventh pay panel award is here. Dalal Street has been counting on the pay panel recommendations to prop up domestic consumption. "This will add to the fiscal deficit without question. "The impact [of pay panel award] on rural economy would be virtually nil," Sharma said.The award is certain to stretch the finance ministry's coffers, and with the benefit of benign oil prices gone, the government is counting on a windfall from the spectrum sale to bail it out. "In case of Sixth Pay Commission, the arrears and not the regular hike made that big an impact," Pankaj Sharma said.Secondly, dearness allowance was counted twice in the calculation of the pay hike back in 2008, making the actual release larger.

Source: Economic Times July 03, 2016 05:57 UTC