Both the rates of dearness allowance for 2023 have been announced and now the next DA will be revised in the year 2024, which will depend on the AICPI index data from July to December 2023. From the data received till September, there are speculations that DA may exceed 50% or more in the new year.
Central Employee DA/HRA/TA/Fitment Factor Hike 2024: Like 2023, the new year can also be full of gifts for central employees and pensioners. There is news that the Modi government can give several big gifts to the central employees before the Lok Sabha elections, this includes increase in dearness allowance, house rent allowance, travel allowance and fitment factor.
The central government has increased DA by 8 percent in 2023 and There is a possibility that DA may increase again by 4 percent in the new year, although DA will depend on the half yearly data of AICPI index and only after this the other allowances will increase. It is also being discussed that before the Lok Sabha elections, the salaries of the employees have been rising for a long time. It can be increased to meet the demand of fitment factor, although official confirmation is yet to be done.
Dearness allowance may increase by 4% in the new year
Actually, the Central Government revises the DA/DR rates of employees-pensioners twice a year in January and July, which depends on the half yearly data of AICPI index. Both the rates have been announced for 2023 and now the next DA will be revised in the year 2024, which will depend on the AICPI index data for July to December 2023.
From the data received till September, there are speculations that DA may exceed 50% or more in the new year. Even though AICPI declined by 1.7 points to 137.5 in September, DA score has reached 48.54 percent. If the DA score increases to 50 percent by December, then there will be another 4% increase in DA, although the figures for October, November and December are yet to be released, after which it will be decided how much DA will increase from January 2024.
If the dearness allowance reaches 50% by December, then the salary of the employees will be revised because with the formation of the 7th Pay Commission, the Central Government had decided the rules for revision of DA that when DA reaches 50%, it will become zero, 50% DA It will be given by adding it to the existing basic salary and the calculation of DA will start from zero or a new pay commission can also be implemented, although the final decision will be taken by the Central Government only.
Increase in house rent allowance also possible in 2024
If media reports are to be believed, with the increase in DA, the Modi government at the Center may also increase the House Rent Allowance by 3 percent in the new year. After this, HRA will increase from 27% to 30%, but this will happen only when DA crosses 50%, because the house rent allowance of employees is revised according to DA.
According to the memorandum of the Finance Department, if DA crosses 50%, HRA will become 30%, 20% and 10%. This can lead to an increase of more than 20 thousand in the salary. The city in which the government employee is working. They are given house rent allowance depending on the city. There are 3 categories in House Rent Allowance. In this, cities with population of more than 50 lakh come in ‘X’ category. Those whose population is
more than 5 lakh come in ‘Y’ category.
Cities with population less than 5 lakh come in ‘Z’ category. The minimum HRA for all three categories will be Rs 5400, 3600 and Rs 1800. Currently, X category employees are given 27 percent of their basic salary, Y category employees are given 18 to 20 percent and Rent allowance is being given.
Increase in travel allowance possible
Apart from DA and HRA, there may also be an increase in travel allowance in the new year 2024. Since travel allowance is linked with different pay bands, there will be a good jump in salary.
Currently, in higher TPTA cities, the travel allowance for Grade 1 to 2 is Rs 1800 and Rs 1900, for Grade 3 to 8, it is Rs 3600 + DA, while for other places this rate is Rs 1800 + DA, hence the increase in DA. There will be an increase in TA and salary will also increase.
However, all this will be decided in March 2024, because the DA of January is announced till March, in such a situation, as the DA increases, the travel will also be increased according to the grade, although official confirmation is yet to be done.
Fitment factor may increase in 2024
According to media reports, before the Lok Sabha elections, the Modi government at the Center can also take a major decision on the fitment factor of employees. At present, under the 7th Pay Commission, the fitment factor of the employees is 2.57 percent and the basic salary is Rs. 18000.
There is a possibility that considering the demand of the employees, it may be increased from 2.57 to 3.00 percent. If this happens then the basic salary will increase from Rs 18000 to Rs 21000, thus there will be different increase in the salary of different level employees. ,
For example, if the basic salary of a central employee is Rs 18,000, then excluding allowances his salary will be Rs 18,000 X 2.57 = Rs 46,260. With 3 times fitment factor, the salary will be Rs 21000 X 3 = Rs 63,000. Earlier, the government had increased the fitment factor in 2016 and the 7th pay commission was also implemented from the same year.
