Akhilesh Yadav, current UP Chief Minister seems to be well prepared for upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections. From offering smartphones to starting AIIMS, he is leaving no stoned upturned for making him win second time for the elections. Now to woo voters: he announced the implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations, intended to benefit about 22 lakh employees and pensioners.

The decision was taken by the state cabinet on Tuesday and the salary hike proposals will be implemented from next month (January 2017).

As per new salary structure, entry salary that is of the lowest rung will be around Rs 18,000, while the highest salary will be around Rs 2.25 lakh, reported The Financial Express. Under the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, the state government employees are slated to get 10-15 per cent hike in their salaries

The Akhilesh government is facing anti-incumbency and it is also struggling with the internal feud in the Yadav family. The decision to implement the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations in the state was taken in the cabinet meeting today. The recommendations will be implemented from January 1, 2017.

The news comes even as some states such as Odisha and Goa have either decided to implement the recommendations for their state government employees or have hinted at implementing them.

The Odisha government’s annual salary bill of Rs 29,800 crore would increase by about Rs 5,000 crore on account of the implementation of the CPC recommendations.

The Goa government had allocated Rs 2,553 crore for salaries and pensioners for the financial year 2016-17, as against Rs 1,946 crore in the previous fiscal, to accommodate the additional outgo arising out of the impending implementation of the CPC for its employees.