7th Pay Commission latest news: Lakhs of central government employees and pensioners are set to receive the first Dearness Allowance/ Dearness Relief boost of 2023 in March. The paperwork is being readied and the DA hike announcement could be made by the Centre in the next 10 days, India.com reported citing a Finance Ministry official.
As per latest updates, central government employees are likely to get a 4 percent DA hike while pensioners could also get a 4 percent hike in DR, the official revealed. The hike will be vital for central employees in tackling inflation. Once announced, the DA hike will be in effect from January 2023.
Buzz has increased around the next round of DA hike with earlier reports suggesting the announcement would be made on Holi (March 8) or the next day. While the official announcement has not been made so far, it is now expected to be done by March 20, 2023.
The DA figure for central government employees currently stands at 38 percent after a 7 percent increase from the two hikes of 2022. A 4 percent hike will take the DA to 42 percent.
More good news likely for central employees
The DA hike could be accompanied by another piece of good news for central employees. The Centre may greenlight the demand to increase the Fitment Factor. It currently stands at 2.57 percent under the 7th Pay Commission guidelines.
This figure could be hiked to 3.68 percent by the Centre. If such an increase in the Fitment Factor is announced, the minimum salary of central government employees could rise to Rs 26,000 from the current Rs 18,000.
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