7th Pay Commission Big Update: DA Hike Likely to be Announced Today After Cabinet Meeting

The Central government may announce the next revision of DA (dearness allowance) for central government employees and retirees for the second half of this year today at a cabinet meeting. This announcement usually occurs around this time of year, just before the Navaratri festival concludes.

Since that pattern has been observed for many years, central government employees and retirees who are paid in accordance with the 7th Pay Commission are expecting changes to the Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) prior to these festival days.

Although it is not yet confirmed, it is possible that the employees who have been waiting for the announcement of the DA Hike on Navratri day this year will get the good news on Wednesday.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting is scheduled for today. Although the agenda for that meeting is not yet known, it is quite likely that the DA announcement will be made.

The cabinet meeting will take place after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's return on Wednesday from Japan, where he is traveling to attend the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Since this custom has been upheld for many years, it is thought that the DA hike may be on the agenda for approval at that cabinet meeting, but the agenda is not currently available. Since the dearness allowance is updated each year before Navratri and following festivals, there is a good chance that this will be on the agenda.

The announcement will benefit about 47.68 lakh central government employees and 68.62 lakh pensioners, and it also applies to civilian employees and those working in defense services.

The staff would get the arrears payment along with their most recent paychecks because the current dearness announcement boost went into effect on July 1. Every year on January 1 and July 1, the central government adjusts the dearness allowance and dearness relief; however, the decision is often published in March and September.

The proposal to enhance the dearness allowance (DA) for central government employees and the dearness relief (DR) for retirees by 3% to 34 percent of the basic wage from 31 percent previously had been agreed by the cabinet in March.

At the time, the government paid its workers three months late. The agreed formula, which is based on the suggestions of the 7th central pay commission, is used to adjust the dearness allowance in accordance with any price increases. Retail inflation, or consumer price inflation, has risen above the top limit of the Reserve Bank of India's goal range of 2–6% each month this year, increasing the chance of a larger increase in DA, with media sources predicting a 4-5% hike.