Payment amount unchanged from earlier years
An October 15, 2026, memorandum records the President's approval of the Non-Productivity Linked Bonus. It covers eligible Group C and non-gazetted Group B central government employees outside existing Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) schemes, as well as qualifying military and paramilitary personnel.
The calculation uses a monthly emoluments ceiling of ₹7,000 and an average month of 30.4 days. Multiplying ₹7,000 by the 30 days covered by the award, then dividing by 30.4 and rounding to the nearest whole rupee, produces the ₹6,908 maximum.
That amount matches earlier awards. The Ministry of Finance's Department of Expenditure sanctioned ₹6,908 for 2024-25, also representing 30 days' emoluments at the ₹7,000 monthly ceiling, in an Office Memorandum dated September 29, 2025. A memorandum dated October 17, 2023, covered the same ₹6,908 payment for 2022-23.
Service requirements and exceptions
The general eligibility rule requires at least six months of continuous service during 2025-26 and active service on March 31, 2026. Employees who served for six months or more but less than the full year receive a proportional payment; six months of service would yield about half the full bonus.
The memorandum makes exceptions for personnel who retired or died before March 31, 2026. They may qualify for a proportional bonus if they completed at least six months of regular service during the financial year. Employees who resigned before that date are not covered by this exception.
Service-counting rules also address leave, suspension and deputation. Some types of leave may count toward eligibility, while extraordinary leave without pay and unauthorized absences generally do not. Service across central government departments may be combined when a transfer involved no break in service.
Casual workers and payment timing
Casual workers have separate attendance thresholds. In offices operating six days a week, they must have worked at least 240 days in each of three years. For offices operating five days a week, the requirement is at least 206 days in each of those years. Qualifying workers can receive ₹1,184, calculated using a monthly ceiling of ₹1,200.
The Finance Ministry requires ministries and departments to follow the memorandum's eligibility rules and implementation guidelines. It has not set a single payment date for all recipients; disbursement in the 2026-27 financial year will depend on implementation by the individual ministries and departments.
