Chief Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Kumar is the target of the opposition these days. Meanwhile, the discussion regarding his salary, government facilities and total wealth has also intensified. The CEC gets a basic salary of Rs 2.50 lakh every month, which is equivalent to the salary of a Cabinet Secretary. However, there is no clear information available publicly regarding his net worth.
Tezzbuzz Desk- The opposition 'INDIA' alliance has started a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in the capital Delhi. The opposition, led by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, has raised questions on the CEC over changes in “Form 6” used for voter registration and the 'Special Intensive Revision' (SIR) of the voter list. Meanwhile, it is also interesting to know how much salary and what facilities the Chief Election Commissioner of the country gets every month.
Gyanesh Kumar's basic monthly salary is Rs 2,50,000. This salary is equal to the salary of a Cabinet Secretary. Apart from this, CEC gets a monthly allowance of Rs 34,000. They also get facilities like government accommodation, government vehicle with driver, security cover, electricity, water and telephone. Medical facilities are also available for self and family.
The basic monthly salary of the Chief Election Commissioner of India is Rs 2.50 lakh. After a change in the law in 2023, the salaries of the CEC and election commissioners were made equal to the salary of the Cabinet Secretary.
The major facilities available to CEC include a monthly allowance of Rs 34,000. However, the CEC and the Election Commissioners have voluntarily decided to give up the income tax exemption on this allowance.
Apart from this, CEC gets the facility of LTC for self, spouse and dependent family members. This has also been voluntarily reduced to once a year instead of thrice.
They also get government accommodation, government vehicles with drivers and security cover. The CEC and his family are also provided complete medical treatment along with electricity, water and telephone facilities at free or very low cost.
After retirement, they get good pension along with other benefits commensurate with high constitutional posts.
CEC salary rules changed in 2023
Under the 1991 law, the salaries of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners were equal to those of Supreme Court judges. However, after the CEC and other Election Commissioner Bill, 2023, his salary was made equal to the salary of Cabinet Secretary.
At present, the salary of CEC and Election Commissioners is equal, but the process of deciding the salary of both is done on different basis. Under Article 125 of the Constitution, the salaries of Supreme Court judges are decided by an Act of Parliament.
At the same time, the salary of the Cabinet Secretary is decided by the government on the basis of the recommendations of the Central Pay Commission. After the 2023 law, the role of the government in deciding the salaries of CEC and EC has increased.
Who is Gyanesh Kumar?
Gyanesh Kumar is a 1988 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre. He became the Election Commissioner in 2024 and took over the responsibility of the Chief Election Commissioner of the country in February 2025.
62-year-old Gyanesh Kumar has also worked with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He retired from the post of Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation on 31 January 2024. Before this, he had also worked as Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
Important responsibility during removal of Article 370
When Article 370 was removed in August 2019, Gyanesh Kumar was posted as Joint Secretary of Kashmir Division in the Home Ministry.
In 2020, as Additional Secretary, he took charge of a special desk of the Home Ministry. This desk was looking into the matters related to the Supreme Court's decision in the Ayodhya case. This also included the formation of 'Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust'.
Earlier, during the Congress-led UPA government, Kumar was posted as Joint Secretary (Defense Production) in the Defense Ministry from 2007 to 2012.
BTech from IIT Kanpur
Gyanesh Kumar was born on 27 January 1964 in Uttar Pradesh. He has done BTech in Civil Engineering from IIT Kanpur. Apart from this, he has done PG in Economics from Harvard University of America. He has also studied CFA from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI). His father was a doctor, while his grandfather was a freedom fighter and later held the post of principal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
There is no clear information available publicly regarding the total assets or net worth of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Former TMC MP Saket Gokhale had raised questions regarding this issue in April this year.
Gokhale had questioned why information related to Gyanesh Kumar's assets was considered “personal information” under RTI. He said that as a former IAS officer, information related to Gyanesh Kumar's assets should be publicly available.
Saket Gokhale had also shared his RTI application on X and the response received from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) of the central government. He had filed an RTI on November 5, 2025, seeking details of the immovable property information (IPR) filed by IAS officer Gyanesh Kumar between 2015 and 2023.