7th pay Commission latest news: Central government employees under the 7th Pay Commission pay package may get some good news by March 2023. Several media reports suggest that they are likely to receive a hike in their dearness allowance (DA) by the aforementioned date. Apart from the DA hike, the Union government is also likely to increase the dearness relief (DR) for pensioners.
The government employees must be knowing that both the Dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) are revised twice a year -- first in January and then in July. And now, as the new year is just around the corner, government employees may receive the DA hike news that will certainly delight them. Reports suggest that central government employees are likely to receive 3 to 5 percent DA hike by March 2023.
Last DA hike
The Centre hiked the DA in September 2022 which benefitted about 48 lakh central government employees and 68 lakh pensioners. The government announced a DA hike of 4 percent, and after that, the total Dearness Allowance reached 38 percent.
Prior to the September hike, the Central government employees were receiving 34 percent DA which was raised by 3 percent in March 2022.
The government did not announce any DA hike during the Covid pandemic. However, beginning on July 1, 2021, the government increased the dearness allowance by 11 percent. After that, the dearness allowance increased from 17 to 28 percent starting in July 2021. Currently, central government employees are receiving 38 percent DA. However, the workers also are demanding compensation for the 18 months that the dearness allowance was halted.
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DA arrear of 18 months
Reports suggest that central government employees may receive the long pending 18-month DA arrears soon. It is expected to be addressed soon by the Centre in the next cabinet meeting. Three instalments of DA arrears -- January 1, 2022, July 1, 2020, and Jan 1, 2021, were stopped during the Covid-19.
