7th Pay Commission: Though the central government employees are still waiting for the over and above 7th Pay Commission pay hike recommended by the panel report, Centre has increased the interest rates of General Provident Fund and related funds to 8 per cent for the October-December quarter from 7.6 per cent in the July-September quarter. This will benefit over 48 lakh government employees as they will get a higher interest rate on their contribution in these funds. (Reuters)