DA Hike Update: The central government is expected to announce the increase in DA for central employees in September. The government employees’ union is continuously demanding the payment of 18 months’ arrears of DA.
7th Pay Commission Latest News: Government employees may be given a gift by the Center next month. An announcement of increasing DA by 3 percent may be made in the month of September. If this time DA increases by 3 percent, then from July 1, central employees and pensioners will be given the benefit of 53 percent dearness allowance and dearness relief. However, the government is unlikely to release the arrears of 18 months of DA and dearness relief (DR) withheld during the Covid-19 epidemic.
It was not given from January 2020 to January 2021
In the monsoon session of Parliament, two MPs had recently sought information about the government’s decision on the arrears of DA. The question asked whether the government is considering releasing 18 months of dearness allowance, which was stopped during the Covid pandemic. To this, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary replied ‘no’. During this, he told that three installments of Dearness Allowance (DA) / Dearness Relief (DR) were stopped by the government from January 2020 to January 2021.
DA will not be merged with basic salary
Now the Center is likely to increase Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) by 3 percent in September 2024. It will be made effective from July 1, 2024. DA will not be merged with basic salary, even if it exceeds 50 percent. This process will continue till the formation of the 8th Pay Commission. According to people familiar with the matter, instead of merging DA with basic salary, there are provisions to increase the allowance, which includes HRA.
Last time DA increased to 50 percent
Let us tell you that DA is given to government employees while DR is given to pensioners. DA and DR are increased twice a year, it is made effective from January and July every year. In the last increase in March 2024, DA was increased by 50 percent by the Central Government. At that time, both dearness allowance and dearness relief were increased by 4-4 percent.
In July, the Central Government Employees and Workers Union made several demands ahead of Budget 2024. This includes the immediate formation of the 8th Pay Commission and restoration of the old pension scheme. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on July 30 that two representations have been received for the formation of the 8th Central Pay Commission in June 2024. At present, there is no such proposal under consideration of the government.
