The lawmakers will also receive a higher daily allowance of ₹2,500, up from ₹2,000, for attending parliamentary sessions and committee meetings.
In a major development, Members of Parliament (MPs) will receive a 24% salary hike, with their monthly salary increasing from ₹1 lakh to ₹1.24 lakh, following a gazette notification issued by the parliamentary affairs ministry on Monday. Additionally, the monthly pension for former MPs has been revised from ₹25,000 to ₹31,000.
This is the first salary revision since 2018, when the government introduced an inflation-linked mechanism for automatic salary adjustments every five years. The new salary structure will be effective from April 1, 2023. A senior Lok Sabha official revealed that Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will soon meet to discuss additional increments, including MPs’ constituency allowance, furniture allowance, and office expenses.
The daily allowance for attending parliamentary sessions and official duties has also been increased from ₹2,000 to ₹2,500 per day. Moreover, the additional pension for every year of service beyond five years has been raised from ₹2,000 per month to ₹2,500 per month.
Despite this increase, Indian MPs remain among the lower-paid legislators globally on a purchasing power parity basis, according to an Inter-Parliamentary Union report from 2012. In comparison, lawmakers in countries like Brazil, the US, the UK, Russia, Germany, and France receive higher salaries.
Background and Previous Recommendations
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, MPs voluntarily accepted a 30% salary cut, with their salaries temporarily reduced by ₹30,000 per month to contribute to Covid relief efforts. This reduction was formalized through a bill passed in Parliament.
A parliamentary panel in 2015, led by then Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath, had recommended a 100% salary hike and a 75% pension increase for MPs. The same committee proposed raising the pension for former MPs from ₹20,000 to ₹35,000 and doubling the daily sitting allowance to ₹4,000.
While the current revision falls short of these earlier demands, discussions are ongoing about increasing MPs’ constituency allowances from ₹70,000 to ₹87,000, office expenses by ₹15,000 to ₹65,000, and furniture allowances by ₹25,000 to ₹1.25 lakh.
Reacting to the salary hike, Samajwadi Party MP Anand Bhadauria stated, “Considering inflation, this increase is not sufficient.” Meanwhile, BJP MP Malvika Devi welcomed the raise but added, “I would have been happier if funds for the MPLADS (MP Local Area Development Scheme) had also been increased.”
The latest hike follows the provisions of the Salary, Allowances, and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, which ties MPs’ salaries to the Cost Inflation Index under the Income Tax Act, 1961. With this automatic revision mechanism in place, lawmakers are set to receive periodic hikes every five years, ensuring their salaries keep pace with inflation
