The Salaries Of India's Ruling Elite, Including The President And PM

By siliconindia | Tuesday, 21 January 2014, 13:38 Hrs

Bangalore: So what’s all that hype around Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal refusing to accept security cover and his initial refusal to take a government bungalow? It’s all about a public servant living an austere life and avoiding the misuse of the state’s wealth for his personal luxury.

Do you remember the cash- for- questions scandal? And the debates that followed? 11 members of parliament accepted bribe to ask questions in parliament in December 2005. Amid the outpouring of anger and shock from all quarters, a section of media raised a contrary question, that the Indian public servant is underpaid, hence prone to corruption.

What about the comparisons between the salary of top Indian politicians and their counterparts in corporate world? Though on first look, the salary of Indian politician looks meager in comparison to that of a corporate head, when you include the innumerable perks available to an Indian politician, the corporate earnings look paler. Sample this: the perks of the President of India include allocation for household maintenance, garden maintenance, and secretarial salary-each crossing few crores of rupees, free international and national air travel with family members and pension and other benefits.

So, let’s have a look at the salaries of the president, the prime minister and some of the chief ministers to have a better understanding of the above mentioned issues, as reported by Rediff.com