DA Hike for Central Government Employees: Dearness Allowance or DA, churned out under the 7th Pay Commission, occupies one of the most important portions of any employee, especially those with government jobs. However, for around the past one and half years, central government employees are eagerly waiting to get their DA arrears, which have been frozen on account of the economic restraint created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Amid this, media reports are now suggesting that the government might announce some good news regarding this next week, when the Budget session is live.
However, there is no official statement regarding this, and the government too has not commented anything on it. Dearness allowance is generally increased twice a year, in January and July. However, there was no hike announced yet for the month of January this year.
The Centre had earlier made it clear that it had no plans to give out DA arrears to its employees due to the pandemic. But the constant pressure and requests from employees and pensioners are expected to bring up the topic of giving out arrears that have been stopped for as many as 18 months. According to Money Control Hindi which cited various media reports, the cabinet council has made a demand that while restoring DA, there should be a one-time settlement of DA arrears.
As of now, central government employees are paid a Dearness Allowance of 31 per cent. The most recent hikes were given in July and October 2021, after a months-long freeze in the allowance due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Union Cabinet in October had hiked dearness allowance and dearness relief by 3 per cent to 31 per cent to benefit 47.14 lakh Central Government employees and 68.62 lakh pensioners.
According to a report on Zee News, it is being speculated in the media that government employees will receive their total arrears at one go — which may go up to as much as Rs 2 lakh for some of them.
The report also stated that the Union Cabinet is mulling to take the matter for discussion in the next week, where the quantum of the DA will be discussed. However, this is only a matter of speculation and the government has not confirmed or said anything about this.
In an earlier report, Zee Business quoted Shiv Gopal Mishra of the National Council of JCM, who said that the DA arrears of Level-1 employees range from Rs 11,880 to Rs 37,554. On the other hand, for Level-13 (7th CPC basic pay scale Rs 1,23,100 to Rs 2,15,900) or Level-14 (pay scale), the DA arrears of the employees will be Rs 1,44,200 and 2,18,200 respectively. If the Union Cabinet gives a green signal to it, the central employees along with over 65 lakh pensioners will further enjoy the linked benefits.
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