look news india
7th Pay Commission: Central government employees may get some good news this month. There is a possibility of a 4 percent increase in dearness allowance to central government employees. The government increases both Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR). Dearness allowance is given to government employees, while dearness relief is given to pensioners. DA is generally revised twice a year – in January and July. An announcement regarding DA increase is expected before Holi in March 2024. If the government increases DA before Holi, then 2 months' D arrears will also be included in the salary received at the end of March.
How is DA increase calculated?
The increase in dearness allowance for employees and pensioners is calculated on the basis of the latest Consumer Price Index for Industrial Labor (CPI-IW) released every month by the Labor Bureau. The last time DA was revised was in October 2023, when DA was increased by 4 percent to 46 percent. By increasing DA by 4 percent, the total DA will increase by 50 percent.
You will get 2 months DA arrears
The government may increase DA before Holi in March. If the government does this then two months' DA arrears will also be included in the March salary. The four percent increase in DA will be considered effective from January 1. DA arrears of two months January and February will also be given in the salary of March.
About 1 crore employees and pensioners will benefit
This decision of the Central Government benefited 48.67 lakh central employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners. Earlier, the government had approved Diwali bonus for Group C and non-gazetted Group B level officers including paramilitary forces. DA of central government employees is based on the inflation rate of the country. If the inflation rate is high then there is a possibility of further increase in DA.
How much total increase in DA is expected?
After 4 percent DA increase in the coming month, the total dearness allowance and dearness relief will increase to 50 percent. The 12-month average of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) stood at 392.83. According to this CPI-IW data, DA is coming to 50.26 percent of the basic salary.