'Diwali Bhet': 87,000 employees of THIS PSU to get Rs 5000 bonus each

It's raining gifts and bonuses for government employees ahead of Diwali. The latest to join the list is Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). The state-owned transport corporation announced a Rs 5,000 'Diwali bhet' or Diwali bonus to its employees. The move comes after the corporation got Rs 45 crore in financial aid from the government.

The MSRTC has around 87,000 employees, including officers, and all of them will get a "Diwali bhet" or gift of Rs 5,000. The corporation said that it had been facing a financial crunch for the last two years due to a decrease in the number of passengers and the coronavirus epidemic. However, government assistance will help it give a Rs 5,000 Diwali gift each to the officers and employees.

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The amount will be credited to the bank accounts of employees soon. MSRTC is one of the biggest state-owned public transport undertakings in the country with a fleet of over 16,000 buses. The loss-making corporation was ferrying over 65 lakh passengers daily before the outbreak of the pandemic.

It may be noted that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had announced a Diwali bonus for employees of the Municipal Corporation, Teachers, and The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking (BEST) in September. CM Shinde had said that Rs 22,500 will be given to employees of Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Teachers and BEST while one month's salary will be given to the health workers as a Diwali bonus. The BEST has around 29,000 employees.

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Noteworthy to mention that the Maharashtra government had already hiked the dearness allowance (DA) for its government employees by 3 per cent in August ahead of the festival season, well ahead of the Central government's DA hike announcement in September. The Maharashtra government had said that the dearness allowance was increased to 34 per cent of the basic pay, from earlier 31 per cent.