DA Benefits: At present, central employees are getting 42% of their basic pay as DA, while pensioners are getting 42% of their basic pension as Dearness Relief (DR). The 4% hike will take the total DA/DR to 46%, putting more money in the hands of employees and pensioners.
DA Hike: Central government employees are expected to get a 3% hike in their Dearness Allowance (DA), but if announced through the Centre, this hike will not be on the expected lines. Central government employees were expecting a 4 per cent hike in DA. This is because the Dearness Allowance rate is more than 3% as per the latest AICPI-IW data.
Dearness allowance
At present, central employees are getting 42% of their basic pay as DA, while pensioners are getting 42% of their basic pension as Dearness Relief (DR). The 4% hike will take the total DA/DR to 46%, which will put more money in the hands of employees and pensioners to fight the fall in the value of their monthly salaries due to the rise in inflation this year.
DA
However, recent media reports say that the Central Government is likely to increase Dearness Allowance by three percentage points to 45% and there is a reason for it. Dearness Allowance for employees and pensioners is calculated on the basis of the latest All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) released every month through the Labor Bureau. AICPI-IW data for the month of June 2023 was released on July 31, 2023.
Revenue
According to Shiv Gopal Mishra, general secretary of All India Railwaymen’s Federation, the DA hike is a little over 3% as per AICPI-IW data. However, the government is not considering increasing DA beyond the decimal point. This means that the government can increase the DA/DR by 3%. The Department of Expenditure under the Finance Ministry is now expected to prepare a proposal for the DA hike with revenue implications. The proposal will later be placed before the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for final approval.
People will benefit
Central Government employees and pensioners get their salary and pension as per the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. The announcement of DA/DR hike will benefit over 1 crore central government employees and pensioners.
