look news india
7th Pay Commission: According to various media reports, the government may announce a four percent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for central government employees in the next month i.e. March 2024. Dearness allowance for employees and pensioners is decided every month on the basis of the latest Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) released by the Labor Bureau.
The increase in DA will be as per the approved formula based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission. In October 2023, the Cabinet had last increased DA for government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners by four percent. With that four percent increase, DA increased from 42 percent to 46 percent.
This decision benefited 48.67 lakh central government employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners. Earlier, Diwali bonus for Group C and non-gazetted Group B level officers, including paramilitary forces, was approved by the government. For 2022-2023, the Finance Ministry had set a limit of ₹7,000 for calculating non-productivity linked bonus (ad-hoc bonus) for central government employees.
The government takes the decision to increase DA based on the inflation rate of the country. If inflation is high, DA will probably be increased further. The DA and DR increase is determined by the percentage increase in the 12-month average of the All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI) for the financial year.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced in December 2023 that her government will give a four percent increase in DA to all its employees from New Year's Day.
“I announce that all 14 lakh state government employees, teaching and non-teaching staff of all schools, colleges and universities, and employees of all statutory undertakings and parastatals and pensioners will get another 4 per cent DA from January 1, 2024. Will get installment. ,” Banerjee said.
Saying that the provision of DA is mandatory for the Central government while it is “optional” for the state, Banerjee said that for the DA hike, her government will have to bear an additional expenditure of Rs 2,400 crore.
Although the central government revises the allowances on January 1 and July 1 each year, the decision is usually announced in March and September. Both employees and pensioners will benefit after the upcoming DA hike.