7th Pay Commission: Good news soon for central government employees? DA hike likely in July

7th Pay Commission news: There could be more good fortune on the way for central government employees in a couple of months. The salary of central employees could see yet another hike as the government is reportedly planning to increase the dearness allowance (DA) in July.

Employees could see the increased salary account show up in their bank accounts in July or the next month in August, as per media reports. It should be noted here that DA hike is provided to employees by the government twice in a year in the months of January and July. The increase percentage is decided on the basis of the latest data on retail inflation.

It is expected that retail inflation data for April 2022 will be out this week. Rate of inflation climbed to 7 percent in March after a 0.9 percent hike from 6.1 percent in February this year. The recent surge in inflation comes amid soaring prices of food and edible products.

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With the momentum at which inflation is currently rising, the government may greenlight a 4% hike in DA. This will take the DA of central government employees from 34% to 38%. The amount was last hiked back in March, when it saw a 3 percent increase on the 31% DA at the time, in a move that benefited 1 crore 15 lakh current employees and pensioners. DA and DR hikes had been on hold till July 2021 but central employees have seen multiple hikes since then.