7th Pay Commission: What LTC benefits are provided to government employees

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Thursday said that the officials of central government will now be able to avail tickets in all airlines including private airlines in lieu of Home Town/All India LTC travel to North East Region (NER), Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Andaman & Nicobar (A&N). Earlier, these employees were allowed to travel by Air India flights only.

"At present, the officials of Central Government are allowed to travel by Air India flights only while availing LTC. However, the facility to avail tickets in all airlines including private airlines is admissible at present in case of LTC in lieu of Home Town/All India LTC travel to North East Region (NER), Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Andaman & Nicobar (A&N), in relaxation to Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988 under certain conditions. There is no proposal at present to allow Government officials to travel by private airlines for the purpose of LTC," the official notification read. 

So, it is important to understand for the government officials to understand what LTC benefits they get as per the 7th Pay Commission recommendations. 

The report stated that Leave Travel Concession or LTC is "granted to Central Government employees to facilitate home travel as well as travel to different parts of the country". It said that currently, two hometown visits are allowed in a block of four years with one hometown visit substitutable with “All India” visit. However, for the first two 4-year blocks, three hometown visits and one 'All India' visit are permissible. 

The report added that LTC is not granted to an employee whose spouse is working in Indian Railways. 

Responding to the demands of employees, the commission said that extension of LTC to foreign countries is not in the ambit of this Commission. However, it added that the proposal to split hometown LTC has merit and can be considered. "It is recommended that splitting of hometown LTC should be allowed in case of employees posted in North East, Ladakh and Island territories of Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep. This will enable these employee and their families to meet more often," the report added. 

It said that the facility of Additional LTC should be extended to SSB personnel, at par with other CAPFs.