North-East special allowances — WITHDRAWN (September 2022):

DoPT issued a circular in September 2022 withdrawing the special duty allowance specifically for All India Service officers posted in North-East states. This allowance had been ~25% of basic pay for officers posted in the NE region.

Reason for withdrawal: The 7th Central Pay Commission (2016) had recommended rationalisation of allowances, and the special NE duty allowance was merged/withdrawn as part of this rationalisation.

What remains — Hardship Allowance (7th Pay Commission framework):

The 7th Pay Commission categorised hardship postings. Officers posted in:

• Category H locations (hardship): Hard Area Allowance — 25% of basic pay in 'X' grade cities (lower in others)
• Category R locations (remote): Remote Locality Allowance — varies by remoteness grade (Grade R1: ₹5,300/month; R2: ₹3,900/month; R3: ₹2,900/month)

Notified hardship/remote locations include parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Uttarakhand hill districts, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep.

J&K: Officers posted in J&K receive a special allowance under the J&K cadre rules — separate from the withdrawn NE allowance.

Tribal area allowance: Officers posted in Fifth Schedule tribal areas receive Tribal Area Allowance as specified by their respective state government (not a centrally-set AIS allowance).

Source: DoPT OM F.No. 13040/1/2011-AIS(I) — September 2022 withdrawal circular; 7th Pay Commission report on Allowances, Chapter 8; Ministry of Finance OM on 7th CPC allowances 2017