The opposition ‘Bharat’ coalition has launched a protest against the Chief Election Commissioner of the Election Commission of India in the capital. Led by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, the opposition has stepped up its attacks on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over changes in “Form 6” used for voter registration and the controversial ‘Special Intensive Revision’ (SIR) of the electoral roll. Several serious allegations have also been made. Apart from all these things, do you know how much salary Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar gets in a month?

In fact, his basic monthly salary is ₹2,50,000, which is equal to the salary of a Cabinet Secretary. Benefits include a monthly allowance of Rs 34,000, free government accommodation and government car, security cover, subsidized utilities and handsome pension after retirement. After the 2023 amendment in the law, the government fixes the salary of the Chief Election Commissioner based on the recommendations of the Central Pay Commission. However, there is no public information available about Gyanesh Kumar’s net worth, which has raised questions under the RTI Act. Let’s talk about its salary, facilities and allowances in detail…

Salary, Basic Facilities and Allowances of CEC

The basic monthly salary of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India is Rs. 2,50,000, which is equivalent to the salary of a judge or cabinet secretary. Earlier it was equal to the salary of a Supreme Court judge. However, CEC also gets special facilities.

A monthly allowance of Rs 34,000 (CEC and Election Commissioners voluntarily decided to waive income tax exemption on this allowance).
LTC facility for self, spouse and dependent family members (voluntarily reduced to once a year instead of thrice a year).
Government accommodation, Government vehicles with driver and security cover.
Free or very low cost electricity, water, telephone facilities and complete medical treatment/facilities for self and family.
Good pension after retirement and other benefits equivalent to higher constitutional posts.

These changes were made in 2023

Under the 1991 Act (which has now been amended), the salaries of CECs and ECs were the same as those of Supreme Court judges. But the CEC and other Election Commissioners Bill, 2023 has made the salary of CEC and EC equal to that of Cabinet Secretary. At present the salary of both is the same, but it is determined differently. According to Article 125 of the Constitution, the salary of a Supreme Court judge should be fixed by an Act of Parliament.

At the same time, the salary of the Cabinet Secretary is fixed by the government on the recommendation of the Central Pay Commission. Thus, the 2023 Act has given more powers to the Executive (Government) to fix the salaries of CECs and ECs.

Career of Gyanesh Kumar

Gyanesh Kumar is a 1988 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre. He became Election Commissioner in 2024 and CEC in February 2025. 62-year-old Kumar has previously worked with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He retired on 31 January 2024 as Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation under Amit Shah. Prior to that he also worked as a Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Abolition of Article 370

When Article 370 was abrogated in August 2019, Kumar was appointed as the joint secretary of the Kashmir department in the Amit Shah-led home ministry. In 2020, Kumar, appointed as Additional Secretary, took charge of the Special Desk in the Ministry of Home Affairs. This desk looked after all matters related to the Supreme Court’s decision on the Ayodhya case, including the formation of the ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust’. Earlier, during the Congress-led UPA government, Kumar was appointed Joint Secretary (Defence Production) in the Ministry of Defense between 2007 and 2012.

BTech from IIT, Kanpur

Born on 27 January 1964 in Uttar Pradesh, Kumar is an engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, where he did his BTech in Civil Engineering. He also has a PG in Economics from Harvard, USA and is pursuing CFA from Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI). Kumar’s father was a doctor and his grandfather was a freedom fighter and later a principal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

Gyanesh Kumar Net Worth

There is no public information available about CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s net worth. In April this year, former TMC MP Saket Gokhale questioned why Gyanesh Kumar’s properties were declared “private information” under RTI. Gokhale said that as a former IAS officer, Kumar’s assets should have been publicly available.

In a detailed post on X, Gokhale shared his RTI application and the response he received from the central government’s Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). In his RTI application dated November 5, 2025, Gokhale sought details of immovable property information (IPR) filed by IAS officer Gyanesh Kumar between 2015 and 2023.