Shouldn't Lawmakers Renounce Their Perks Before Urging The Commonman To Give Up Subsidy?

The privileges given in subsidy are mulcted from the overburdened common man and why shouldn't the parliamentarians be the first ones to take the onus and set an example of being a model citizen to earn greater public trust.

A general view of the Indian Parliament building before the beginning of the first session of the Indian parliament in New Delhi on June 17, 2019. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)

New Delhi: With the Indian Railways planning to give passengers an option to voluntarily give up, either a part or the full subsidy component on their train tickets; we look at the perks that come with being a parliamentarian in India and should the privileges instead be reviewed first. The privileges given in subsidy are mulcted from the overburdened common man and why shouldn't the parliamentarians be the first ones to take the onus and set an example of being a model citizen to earn greater public trust. Below we break down the figures and find out what an Indian MP is entitled to get from the government, and how they can use it.

Member of Parliamentarians – Subsidy

Number of MPs at centre

Lok Sabha – 545

Rajya Sabha – 245

Total MPs – 790 members

Number of MLAs in different states

Total MLAs in the country – 4,120 (Salaries and facilities different in states)

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Salary and facilities of MPs

Monthly Salary – Rs. 100,000

Daily Allowance - Rs. 2,000/- per day for each day of residence on duty (Parliament in session)

(Daily Allowance shall be paid only when a member signs the register maintained for the purpose)

Constituency Allowance – Rs. 70,000

Office Expense Allowance – Rs. 45,000 [Out of these, Rs. 15,000/- for meeting expenses on stationery items and postage, and Rs. 30,000/)

(The salary and daily allowance of members shall be increased after every five years commencing from 1st April, 2023 on the basis of Cost Inflation Index)

Pension - The Pension of Ex-MPs has been raised from Rs. 20,000/- per month to Rs. 25,000/- per month and additional pension of Rs. 15,00/- per  month  has also been increased to Rs.2,000/- per  month for every year served in excess of five years.

Travelling Allowance

Air Travel Facility - Every member has been given the facility to avail 34 single air journeys during a year with spouse or any number of companions or relatives.

The balance of unused air journeys for a year shall be carried over to the following year

Rail Travel Facility - A member, on the strength of the Identity Card, is entitled to travel at any time by any railway in India in first class air-conditioned or executive class.

(Member to be accompanied by one person in air-conditioned two-tier)

By Road - Rs. 16/- per km

Regular Accommodation

Each member is entitled to a rent free flat or hostel accommodation throughout the term of office.

Other Facilities

Washing of sofa covers and curtains every three months (Five year term - 20 times)

Furniture within the monetary ceiling of Rs. 60,000 in respect of durable furniture and Rs. 15,000 for non-durable furniture

Telephone facilities

A member is entitled to have three telephones

50,000 local calls during a year are free on each of the three telephones ( 1,50,000 local calls in a year)

Water and Electricity

4000 kilolitre of water and 50,000 units of electricity per annum beginning from 1 January of every year is supplied free of cost at the residence

(The unutilized units of electricity and water are carried over to the subsequent years)

Medical Facilities

A Member of Parliament is entitled to same medical facilities as are available to the Class-I officers of Central Civil Services, under Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS)

Income Tax Facilities

For the purpose of income tax, the salary and allowances received by member are taxed under the head “income from other sources”

Consequently, no income-tax is deducted at source.

The daily allowance and constituency allowance are exempt from income tax.

Purchase of computers

Desktop, Laptop, Printer, Scanner, Palmtop, e-Reader etc. within the monetary ceiling of Rs. 2 Lakh

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Spending on MPs (2014 to 2018) – Four Years

Salary and perks of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members – Rs. 1,997 crore (Four Years)

Spending on Lok Sabha members – Rs. 1,554 crore

Spending on Rajya Sabha members – Rs. 443 crore

Average spending annually on Parliamentarians

Lok Sabha Members

Average spent on Lok Sabha member – Rs. 71,29,390 annually (71.29 lakh)

Monthly spend – Rs. 5.94 lakh

Rajya Sabha Members

Average spent on Rajya Sabha member – Rs. 44,33,682 annually (44.33 lakh)

Monthly spend – Rs. 3.69 lakh

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Give up Subsidy

March 2015 - Give Up LPG Subsidy is a campaign that was launched by PM Modi.

It is aimed at motivating LPG users who are able to afford to pay the market price for LPG to voluntarily surrender their LPG subsidy

Give up LPG Subsidy - Nearly 1.04 crore LPG consumers voluntarily surrender their LPG subsidy under 'GiveItUp' campaign

Estimated savings due to ‘GiveItUp’ campaign during Financial Year 2018-19: Rs. 2,930 crore.

Ujjwala Gas Connections - 7,34,92,401 (7.34 crore)

Senior citizens in train tickets - Give up subsidy

From 15th August, 2016 to 31st March, 2018: About 48 lakh esteemed senior citizens have voluntarily given up concessions resulting in benefit of Rs. 78 crore savings to Railways from this single initiative.

At present, male senior citizens get 40 per cent while women get 50 per cent concession on the total fare.

Cost of train ticket

Indian Railways recovers only 53 per cent of the cost of a ticket from a passenger

The remaining 47 per cent is given as subsidy to the passengers.

Railways earns - About ₹50,000 crore by selling tickets.

'Give it up' scheme (Earning for Railways) - Rs. 56,000 crore in 2019-20