In a piece of good news for Central government employees just before the new year ushers in, the Centre is likely to increase the dearness allowance (DA) by 3 per cent under the 7th Pay Commission. This will bring relief to the employees who have been waiting for the DA arrears for the past 18 months.
The government had increased the rate of allowance from 17 per cent to 28 per cent. Later in October, the rate of allowance was further increased by 3 per cent.
Now, according to several media reports, the Cabinet Council has demanded that while restoring DA, there should be a one-time settlement of DA arrears, which are stuck for 18 months.
For the unversed, the DA is given out as the cost-of-living adjustment allowance that the government pays to the employees of the public sectors, as well as pensioners who worked in the same sector.
The finance ministry had stopped the DA hike in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The halt was lifted on June 30, 2021. The Indian Pensioners’ Forum or Bharatiya Pensioners Manch (BMS) has also appealed to PM Modi to clear the arrears of dearness allowance and dearness relief of central employees and pensioners.
