Level 18 Salary 7th Pay Commission

Under the 7th Pay Commission Level 18 replaced Cabinet Secretary scale (₹90,000, fixed). Posts that sit here include Cabinet Secretary. There is one cell, so there are no yearly increments: pay rises only by a move to another level or by a decision of the Government.

On ₹2,50,000, DA at 60% adds ₹1,50,000, HRA at the class X rate of 30% adds ₹75,000, and the transport allowance of ₹7,200 with ₹4,320 of DA on it adds ₹11,520: ₹4,86,520 gross. From it come ₹40,000 to NPS, ₹1,000 to CGHS, ₹120 to CGEGIS and ₹1,24,788 of income tax, leaving ₹3,20,612.

Over a year the same entry pay is ₹58,38,240 gross. The employee takes ₹4,80,000 into NPS, ₹13,440 into CGHS and CGEGIS and pays ₹14,97,456 of income tax, so ₹38,47,344 reaches the bank, while the government adds ₹6,72,000 to the pension account.

The figures assume a class X city with the higher transport allowance (Delhi), the new tax regime and NPS. In a class Y town without the higher allowance the same entry pay gives ₹3,00,408 in hand, and in a class Z town ₹2,87,883: the difference is HRA at 20% and 10% against 30%, and the lower transport allowance.

Before 2016 the pay at this level was Cabinet Secretary scale (₹90,000, fixed). The pay matrix replaced pay bands and grade pay from 1 January 2016, and the level is the post’s place in it: a higher level is not a better title but a different pay column.

Levels 17 and 18 are fixed pays, not columns: Level 17 is the Apex scale and Level 18 the Cabinet Secretary’s, so there is one cell and no increment.

The level below, Level 17, ends at ₹2,25,000, and Level 18 starts at ₹2,50,000: ₹25,000 above the top of that level. In hand at entry pay in Delhi, Level 17 gets ₹2,93,413 and Level 18 ₹3,20,612.

Level 18 is the last level of the matrix, so no level lies above it. Its pay, ₹2,50,000, is the highest basic pay in the pay matrix.

Two deductions are set by the level. CGHS, the health scheme, is ₹1,000 a month at this level. CGEGIS, the group insurance, is ₹120 a month, the rate for Group A.

The table shows the whole pay slip at the one cell of Level 18 in Delhi, a class X city with the higher transport allowance. DA is 60% of basic pay and HRA is 30%.

The government adds ₹56,000 a month to the NPS account on top of this (₹56,000 is not part of the pay slip).

Transport allowance is ₹7,200 in the 19 cities on the Department of Expenditure’s list and ₹3,600 elsewhere, with DA on top.

Each row is one cell of the pay matrix. The three in-hand columns assume DA at 60%, the new tax regime, NPS, CGHS and CGEGIS, and no professional tax. Class X is a big city on the higher transport allowance list, class Y a town of that class without it, class Z any other town. Tap a figure to load it into the calculator and change anything.

There is nothing to climb in this level: it is a single fixed pay.

The tax is worked out on a year of one month’s pay, less the ₹75,000 standard deduction, in the new regime, and a twelfth is taken each month. The rebate makes tax zero up to ₹12,00,000 of taxable income, with marginal relief just above it. DA arrears and any other income are taxed in the year you receive them, so your own year may differ.

At entry pay Level 18 is paid ₹58,38,240 a year, above the limit; at the top, ₹58,38,240. In the old regime, rent paid (the HRA exemption), 80C savings and your own NPS contribution are deducted, and you can try them under More options.

DA is 60% of basic pay now. The July 2026 instalment has not been announced; the twelve-month consumer price index gives 63.76%, and only the whole number is paid: 63%. At 63% the DA at entry pay of Level 18 rises by ₹7,716 a month (DA on basic and on transport allowance), ₹4,317 after NPS and tax.

The arrears from July arrive with the first salary at the new rate. The DA calculator works them out for your cell.

There is no cell above ₹2,50,000 in this level, and the matrix gives no cell for a promotion beyond it.

There is no level above Level 18.