The government today approved the National Pay Scale 2026, revising the basic salaries of public servants while retaining the existing 20-grade structure.

Under the new scale, the minimum starting basic salary for grade 20 has been set at Tk 20,000, while the maximum basic salary for grade 1 has been fixed at Tk 156,000.

The pay scale was approved at a cabinet meeting today. The cabinet also approved the Joint Services Instructions 2026 for the armed forces in line with the new pay structure.

The revised pay scale takes effect from July 1, 2026.

The decision followed a review of reports submitted by the National Pay Commission 2025 and the Armed Forces Pay Committee 2025.

 A committee of secretaries was formed to examine the reports and prepare recommendations, which were subsequently placed before the cabinet.

According to a press release, the new scale was finalised after taking into account the government's financial capacity, the overall economic situation, inflation, the cost of living and the living standards of public servants.

The pay ratio between the lowest and highest grades has been somewhat narrowed to 1:1.78 from the existing 1:1.945.

Under the revised scale, the basic salary at the lowest grade will increase by 142 percent, while the fixed salary at the highest grade will rise by 100 percent.