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7th Pay Commission: The Narendra Modi government at the Center had recently announced an increase in the Dearness Allowance (DA Hike) of central employees and increased it by 3 percent. After this, the dearness allowance received by them increased from 50 percent to 53 percent. Meanwhile, discussions also intensified whether this increased DA will be merged into the basic salary of the employees before the revision of dearness allowance in January 2025? Let us know what is the latest update on this matter…
Discussion on merger of DA intensifies
Giving a big gift to the central employees, the Central Government recently increased DA from 50% to 53% and it is effective from July 1, 2024. After this increase, discussion has started regarding the possibility of merging DA with the basic pay. There are speculations about whether dearness allowance and dearness relief allowance will automatically be merged into the basic pay.
According to a report published on Business Today, the government is firm on its stand in this matter that dearness allowance will not be merged into the basic salary, even if it crosses the 50 per cent limit. Quoting a senior official, the report said that during the 5th Pay Commission, if the dearness allowance was more than 50 percent, it was recommended to be merged into the basic salary. But after this this issue was not included.
What are experts saying on this issue?
The report also quotes several experts who have ruled out the possibility of merging DA with the basic pay. According to Vishal Gehrana, Principal Associate, Karanjawala & Co and Supreme Court Advocate on Record, the Fifth Pay Commission recommended merging it with the basic pay to simplify the pay structure and ensure that it is in line with the basic pay. Was. This was seen as a way to avoid DA hikes indefinitely. However, it was not included under the Sixth and Seventh Central Pay Commission.
According to other experts, Debjani Aich, partner at IndusLaw, termed such discussions as speculation and said that the increased DA will not be included in the basic salary of the central government employee. Sanjeev Kumar, partner, Luthra & Luthra Law Offices, India, also said that no such measure was recommended in the 7th Pay Commission report.
Now when will the DA of central employees increase?
The government revises DA and DR for employees and pensioners twice a year. Usually these announcements are made in the months of March and September-October of the year. Which are effective from January and July respectively. Due to this, central employees get the salaries of April and October with an arrear of two to three months. Now talking about the next increase in DA, the new DA increase can be announced before the festival of Holi in March 2025.
