Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday announced a series of measures for the government employees and pensioners, including the appointment of the 12th Pay Revision Commission (PRC), the release of two pending dearness allowances (DAs), and enhanced benefits for elderly pensioners. The measures are expected to entail an additional annual expenditure of ₹2,880 crore.

Mr. Naidu held discussions with representatives of 11 government employees’ unions at his camp office in Undavalli and announced the decisions after considering their demands. The union leaders expressed satisfaction over the announcements.

The government agreed to release the DAs due from July 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025, with the two DAs to be paid from October 1, 2026. It also agreed to credit the surrender leave dues pertaining to 2022 to employees’ accounts by the Sankranti in 2027.

For police personnel, one additional surrender leave will be paid during the Dasara festival.

The government decided to provide an additional quantum of pension, starting January 2027. Pensioners aged above 70 years will receive an additional 10 per cent, while those above 75 years will get 15 per cent.

Employees Health Scheme

The Employees Health Scheme (EHS) will also be streamlined, with the government agreeing to make monthly payments to the NTR Vaidya Seva Trust from next month.

Describing the employees as an integral part of the government, Mr. Naidu assured that the government would extend all possible support in resolving their issues.

The latest decisions come after several measures taken by the coalition government during its first 27 months in office. The government said that it had cleared long-pending CPS contributions, APGLI, GIS, and medical reimbursement claims, including old arrears. It had also cleared the pending GPF, gratuity, and commutation dues to active and retired employees.

Leave encashment arrears for retired employees were cleared up to June 2025, while additional surrender leave arrears for police personnel were also released.

The government noted that salaries and pensions had been paid on the first of every month since it assumed office. It extended the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to about 11,000 eligible CPS employees whose recruitment notifications were issued before September 1, 2004, but who joined service later.

The retirement age for eligible regular employees of State PSUs, corporations, and societies was raised from 60 to 62 years. The government also restarted the regularisation process for about 8,000 eligible contract employees in 2026.

For women employees, the upper age limit for children under Child Care Leave was removed, and the “fewer than two surviving children” condition for 180 days of maternity leave was scrapped.

The government also introduced e-DPC to clear long-pending promotions and launched a Retirement Benefits Processing System for pension and other retirement benefits.