Submitting the report of the Sixth Pay Commission to Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday, Chairman Justice B N Srikrishna called the recommendation for a hike of 40 per cent in salaries of over 4.5 million Central Government employees and doubling of most allowances "something good for the nation'. At the same time, the implementation of a Pay Commission's recommendations has serious implications on the fiscal health of both the Centre and the states. Many, in fact, have argued against such panels, the first of which was constituted back in 1946. A look at the functioning of pay commissions: