As Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh officially become two separate territories from midnight on October 31, 2019, government employees in new Unio Territories are now eligible to receive salaries under the 7th Pay Commission. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed the country on the occasion of the 144th anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth at the Statue of Unity in Kevadia, Gujarat, said " "I am happy that from today all the government employees of Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh will be getting the benefits under the 7th Pay Commission as granted to the employees of other Union Territories."