*Non Functional* Upgradation:NFU*
A recent article in Hindu has brought the issue of the NFU for the Armed Forces Officers in focus again.
Therefore I have thought it pertinent to write this piece to explain this issue in a comprehensive manner in FAQ format.
*Q1. What was the purpose of NFU?
A1. To minimise the financial disparity in pay between the IAS and Organised Group A Services(OGAS).
Q2. When was the NFU promulgated??
A2. It was promulgated on 24.04.2009 to be effective back dated wef 01 Jan 2006.
Q3. What is NFU???
A3. Grant of pay same level/band in PB-3 &4 to the officers of OGAS of a batch two years Senior from a batch of IAS when first Offr from that IAS batch is posted in Central Staff scheme.
Q4. Why has this gap of two years been kept the IAS and the other OGAS???
A4. To maintain financial edge of two increments which the IAS offrs have been enjoying as compared to OGAS since long.
Q5. What are the pay grades to which the NFU was given??
A5. It was given from Grade Pay 6,600( Under Secretary/Major) in PB-3(Rs 15,600/- 39,100/-) to GP 7,600/-(Deputy Secretary/Lt Col) ,Director(GP 8,700), Joint Secretary(JS)(GP 10,000) and Additional Secretary(AS)(HAG Scale 67,000-79,000) in the 6th CPC.
Q6. What are the equivalent pay grades in the 7th CPC for NFU??
A6. These are Pay Level 12(DS/Lt Col), Director/Col(13), Joint Secretary/Maj Gen(14) and Additional Secretary/Lt Gen(15).
Q7. *What are the allied benefits of NFU*???
A7. *Business Class for LTC and TD/Posting and AC Taxi on TD for Level 14 and Type VI(Maj Gen) accn.*
Q8. Which are the military pay grades which are not there in civil???
A8. Captain(GP 6,100/-), Lt Col(GP 8,000/-) and Brig(GP 8,900/-) in the 6th CPC and their equivalent Levels 10A, 12A and 13A in the 7th CPC.
Q9. What is the *financial benefit*?of NFU???
A9.
A. In 6th CPC, increase in GP and one increment of 3% of (Pay+GP) in lower rank. (Exactly like normal promotion).
B. In 7th CPC, one step increment in pay level and shift to the Pay Level to which NFU granted.(Exactly like normal promotion).
Q10. What are the time lines in r/o the IAS for promotion???
A10.
DS 9 to 10 years
Dir(Col) 14 to 15 years
Joint Secretary/Maj Gen
16 to 20 years
Addl Secretary/Lt Gen
26 to 30 years.
*NFU for Armed Forces*
Q11. Which batch offrs of the AFs will benefit from NFU???
A11. Any officer up to Maj Gen *in service* as on 01.01.2006 or later WILL benefit from NFU.
Q12. What is the watershed or starting date for grant of arrears of NFU???
A12. 23 Dec 2013 is the date, three years pre dated from 23 Dec 2016(Date of judgement of NFU case by PB AFT New Delhi) which is the date of commencement of the arrears of NFU.
Q13. What is the date from which the arrears will be calculated notionally???
A13. The arrears will be calculated wef 01 Jan 2006 for all the officers who were in service as on this date or later but will be paid from only from 23 Dec 2013 onwards up to their date of retirement.
Q14. Will there be any cumulative effect on pay fixation in the 7th CPC???
A14. Yes, the pay fixation on account of increase in GP to 10,000 or in HAG Grade(Lt Gen) will lead to pay fixation in the revised scales of the 7th CPC effective from 01 Jan 2016.
Q15. How will the MSP be governed on entry to Grade Pay of 10,000 or Pay Level 14???
A15. This is the most important and pertinent question after grant of NFU. *In my view,the MSP will be subsumed(to be added to pay) when the Grade Pay of Rs 10K or Pay Scale Level 14 is granted to any officer.*
Q16. What is the effect of the Subsumption (Being added to Pay) of MSP into Basic Pay???
A16.
A. It will be beneficial initially since the increment of 3% will be applicable on MSP also which amounts to Rs 180/- every year in the 6th CPC. The MSP was not added for calculating the increment for the offrs up to Brig Rank.
B.The offifers will reach the ceiling of pay of Rs 67,000/- in the 6th CPC and Maximum Pay of Rs 2,18,200/- for Maj Gen Rank in the 7th CPC and will stagnate at this pay.
C. They will however get NFU of HAG Grade (67,000-79,000) in the 6th CPC at about 32 years of service and would reach the maximum of Pay Scale of Level 15 which is Rs 2,24,100/- in the 7th CPC.
Q17. What will the overall effect of the MSP being subsumed in NFU???
A17. The maximum pension of the offrs granted NFU to Maj Gen/JS Rank will be Rs 1,09,100 and Rs 1,12,050/- for Lt Gen/AS Rank.
Q18. Is the NFU beneficial if this factor of Subsumption of MSP is considered???
A18.
It is beneficial during service in accordance with the principle that *it is always better to hit the ceiling of pay scale and stagnate at that level for longer period,rather than not being able to reach it at all.
Q19. What will be the impact of the NFU on the pension???
A19. Although the offrs retiring in Col or Brig Rank may get lesser pension due to *Subsumption* of MSP, it will be more beneficial in longer run since they will get OROP of Maj Gen or Lt Gen in future revision of the pension every 5 years.
Q20. How much arrears can the officers expect due to NFU???
A20. As thumb rule, the officers from same batch having retired in Lt Col/Col Rank will get maximum benefit in pay due to NFU and those retired in Brig/Maj Gen will get lesser benefit but this will be compensated by the duration of the period of arrears due to the higher age of retirement of Brig or Maj Gen Rank Offrs.
Q21. Why is it not possible to quantify arrears of NFU batch wise???
A21. The exact amount of arrears would depend upon the Basic Pay at time of grant of NFU which is dependant upon his date of promotion and date of increment.
Q22. Is there any ballpark figure that can be expected as arrears of NFU???
A22. Yes. I have calculated the exact pay fixation of a Col Seleftion Grade 1989 batch till retirement in 2021. The arrears with DA work out to be Rs 7.66 Lakh. Thus all retired offrs of Col/Brig Rank from 1985 to 1990 can expect arrears from 7 to 7.5 Lakh.
Q23. Is there a ready made list which gives the dates for NFU batch wise???
Ans. I have tabulated the dates of NFU from all 37 DoPT promulgation letters issued by DoPT so far. The list is attached as PDF document.
Q24. Will grant of NFU have any adverse effect on the Comd & Control and functioning of the Armed Forces???
A24. Being purely a financial upgradation, it won't entitle the offr to any substantive functional benefits of the Rank of NFU Pay and thus it won't have any adverse effect on functional aspects of the Armed Forces.
*Col Anil Joshi,AAD*
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