7th Pay Commission Latest Update: Due to the outbreak of the COVID pandemic, the Modi Government had earlier halted the payment of DA and DR for 18 months from January 2020 to June 2021. The DA hike is expected just before the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
7th Pay Commission Latest News Today: For those Central government employees who are waiting for an announcement on DA hike and 18-month arrears, here comes a big update for them. The Central government employees are likely to get two big gifts from the Centre ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2024 – one is hike in dearness allowance and another could be release of 18-month arrears. If reports are to be believed, these two gifts will lead to massive salary hike of the Central government employees.
18-Month Arrears Soon
As per a report by Economic Times, the central government employees and pensioners might get arrears for the dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) suspended for 18 months during the COVID pandemic? In this regard, a letter has been written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
In the letter, Mukesh Singh, General Secretary, of Bharatiya Pratiksha Mazdoor Sangh, urged the Central Government to release the DA arrears of 18 months suspended earlier.
Because of the COVID outbreak, the Central Government has halted the payment of DA and DR for 18 months from January 2020 to June 2021.
Earlier, Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, had in Lok Sabha said that “arrears of DA/DR, which mostly relate to the challenging FY of 2020-21, are not regarded as feasible due to the negative financial impact of the pandemic in 2020 and the funding of the welfare measures implemented by the government having a fiscal spillover beyond FY 2020-21.”
What Is Dearness Allowance And Dearness Relief?
The Central government employees must take note that the dearness allowance is a component of salary that is aimed at soothing the impact of inflation. The effective salary of government employees is revised periodically to cope up with the rising inflation. The Centre revises the DA twice every year – in January and July.
Check Latest DA and DR for Govt Employees
The latest DA for the Central Government employees and DR for Central Government pensioners was increased from 42% to 46%. The new rate was applicable from July 1, 2023.
How Much DA Hike Expected?
This time, the Dearness Allowance (DA) of central employees is expected to rise by 4 per cent and it may be approved in March and will be paid in April. The new DA rate will be affective from January 1, 2024.
After the DA hike announcement in March, it will be paid in the salary of April 2024. It is expected that before Holi, the government will approve the dearness allowance hike for the employees. If it is hiked, the central government employees will get three months’ money in a lump sum.