The Central government employees must note that the dearness allowance is worked out on the basis of the latest Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) brought out by the Labour Bureau every month.
New Delhi: As the festive season is approaching, crores of Central government employees are eagerly waiting for an announcement on DA hike from the Centre. Media reports suggested that the Central government is likely to announce DA hike anytime soon. Other reports suggested that the DA hike is expected to be announced after Navratri. However, no official announcement has been made on the exact date of DA hike for the government employees.
How Much DA to Increase?
The DA hike, which will be effective from July 1, 2023, is expected to be 3 per cent this time that will take to reach 45 per cent. Earlier this week, the Himachal Pradesh government also hiked DA by 3 per cent for the employees of the Forest Corporation from January 1, 2022.
The Central government employees must note that the dearness allowance is worked out on the basis of the latest Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) brought out by the Labour Bureau every month.
As per the latest data, the All-India CPI-IW for July 2023 went up to 3.3 points to 139.7. On 1-month percentage change, the index increased by 2.42 per cent with respect to previous month compared to increase of 0.90 per cent recorded between corresponding months a year ago.
How Much Salary To Increase?
If the DA is hiked by 3%, then the salary of the Central government employees will increase. If an employee’s salary is Rs 50,000 per month and has Rs 15,000 as the basic pay, then she or she currently is getting Rs 6,300 as dearness allowance, which is 42 per cent of the basic pay. However, after the expected 3 per cent hike, the DA will increase to Rs 6,750 per month, which is Rs 450 more than earlier. Hence, if the employee gets a Rs 50,000 salary per month with Rs 15,000 as the basic pay, his or her salary will rise by Rs 450 per month.
How Much DA Given to Employees Now?
It should be noted that DA is granted to government employees, while DR is given to pensioners. In general, DA and DR are hiked twice a year — January and July. Right now, over one crore central government employees and pensioners are getting a 42 per cent dearness allowance.
Last time, DA was increased by 4 per cent to 42 per cent in March 2023. Looking at the current inflation rate, the next DA hike is expected to be 3 per cent, as per various reports.