7th Pay Commission: Central Govt. Employees to Get 18 Months-pending DA Arrears, Salary Hike in January

The central government employees who have been waiting for the official announcement on payment of 18 months-pending Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears could receive good news very soon.

It must be noted that the issue regarding payment of DA arrears of eighteen months (from January 2020 to June 2021) is pending for cabinet discussion.

According to media reports, the DA arrears of employees at Level-3 is calculated between Rs 11,880 to Rs 37,554. Likewise, employees at Level-13 or Level-14, will get arrears between Rs 1,44,200 to Rs 2,18,200.

The Central government employees will be given 18-month DA arrears in 3 installments.

Media reports further informed that on 28 September 2022, the Union Cabinet had approved the release of additional instalment of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief at 4% to the Central government employees as well as pensioners due from 1 July 2022 based on the percentage increase in twelve monthly average of All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI) for the term ending June, 2022.

The extra financial implications on account of this hike of DA to government employees is projected at Rs.6,591.36 crore per year and Rs. 4,394.24 crore in the FY2022-23 (for a period of eight months starting from July, 2022 to February, 2023).

According to the guidelines, the Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief are reviewed twice a year i.e., in January and July.

The recent hike in DA by 4 per cent to 38 per cent had benefited nearly 48 lakh central government employees as well as 68 lakh pensioners. Before this, the Centre increased the DA by 3 per cent to 34 per cent in March according to the 7th Pay Commission.

Media reports also claim that the government may take some important decisions in the coming year which will result in huge hike in salaries of Central govt. employees.

Experts claim that before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the government will give big surprises to the employees.