7th Pay Commission: DA Hike For Central Govt Employees Likely to be Announced in September, Check How Much Salary to Increase

7th Pay Commission: As the retail inflation in the country has increased and hit a 15-month-high level in July, the Centre is expected to increase the dearness allowance (DA) by 3 per cent to 45 per cent.

New Delhi: The Central government employees, who are waiting for their salary hike, here comes a big update for them. As per a report by Zee News, the announcement related to Dearness Allowance hike is likely to be made in September 2023. However, it has not been confirmed as yet.

As the retail inflation in the country has increased and hit a 15-month-high level in July, the Centre is expected to increase the dearness allowance (DA) by 3 per cent to 45 per cent, as per the reports. Once implemented, the DA hike will be effective from July 1, 2023.

How is DA Hike Calculated?

The Central government employees must take note that the dearness allowance is calculated on the basis of the latest Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) brought out by the Labour Bureau every month.

“The CPI-IW for June 2023 was released on July 31, 2023. We are demanding a four percentage point hike in dearness allowance. But the dearness allowance hike works out to be a little over three percentage points. The government does not factor in hiking DA beyond the decimal point. Thus DA is likely to be increased by three percentage points to 45 per cent,” All India Railwaymen Federation General Secretary Shiva Gopal Mishra said recently told news agency PTI.

When DA Hike Will be Announced?

He further added that the expenditure department of the finance ministry will formulate a proposal to hike DA along with its revenue implication and will put up the proposal before the Union Cabinet for approval, and then the DA hike announcement will be made.

At present, over one crore central government employees and pensioners are getting a 42 per cent dearness allowance. While DA is given to government employees, DR is given to pensioners. DA and DR are generally hiked twice a year — January and July.

When Last Time DA was Hiked?

Last time, the dearness allowance was hiked for government employees in March 2023 and it was increased by 4 per cent to 42 per cent.

In the recent past, various state governments, including Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh, have also increased dearness allowance for their state government employees.