The 18-month DA arrears and fitment factor hike that lakhs of Central government employees are waiting to hear about are likely to be followed soon by another piece of good news. Many govt employees wanted to know when they would get the next increase in their dearness allowance.
In addition to this, it is unknown how much of a raise they will get. Prior to Diwali, the Center raised the DA for employees of the central government by 4%, bringing the DA from 34% to 38%. The DA had previously increased by 3% in March 2022. According to the Center's pattern, the next DA hike for central government personnel is expected to take place in March 2023.
How much DA hike can govt employees expect?
In the meantime, a number of media sources claimed that the Centre could increase the DA by 3 to 5% while taking into account the rate of inflation and the 7th Pay Commission's recommendations.
According to some other sources, the DA increase will be eliminated once it reaches 50%. The DA was eliminated in 2016 with the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission. Therefore, if a central government employee's base income is Rs. 18000, they will receive Rs. 9000 in DA at 50% of that amount.
Recently, it was reported that the 8th CPC would be implemented or that the government employees, whose salaries are now set in accordance with the recommendations of the 7th pay commission, would be given a new pay commission.
Furthermore, the government has made no announcements or confirmed the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission.
Updates on the 18-month DA arrears:
The issue of the payment of 18 months' worth of pending Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears has received a lot of public attention since the Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief hike in September of this year. The matter of paying DA arrears that span 18 months from January 2020 to June 2021 has long been on the table for discussion and consideration by the government.
According to media reports, the DA arrears of Level-3 employees range from Rs 11,880 to Rs 37,554.
Employee arrears for Level-13 or Level-14 can range from Rs 1,44,200 to Rs 2,15,900. These statistics could, however, also change based on future discussions with the government, according to earlier reports.
