7th Pay Commission DA Hike: This time the Narendra Modi government at the center can increase DA and DR by 3%. DA (Dearness Allowance) i.e. dearness allowance is given to government employees. Whereas, pensioners get DR i.e. dearness relief
7th Pay Commission DA Hike: The Narendra Modi government at the Center can increase DA and DR by 3% this time. DA (Dearness Allowance) i.e. dearness allowance is given to government employees. At the same time, pensioners get DR i.e. dearness relief. Dearness allowance for central government employees was increased by 50% from January 1, 2024. With DA reaching 50%, many allowances were increased in the last few months. This also includes House Rent Allowance (HRA). Usually the government announces an increase in DA and DR in March and September every year, but this increase is considered applicable from January and July.
The basis for DA increase is the All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI). Earlier DA was calculated using the Consumer Price Index with a base year of 2001. However, from September 2020, the government has started using a new Consumer Price Index with a new base year of 2016 for calculating DA.
New formula for calculating DA
For Central Government Employees:
DA% = [(Average of last 12 months of AICPI (Base Year 2001 = 100) – 115.76)/115.76] x 100
For Public Sector Employees:
DA% = [(Average of last 3 months of AICPI (Base Year 2001 = 100) – 126.33)/126.33] x 100
The CPI-IW has increased by 2.6 points from December 2023 to June 2024, from 138.8 to 141.4. Thus, the percentage of increase in DA is expected to increase from 50.28% to 53.36%.
Salary will increase by this much
Central government employees whose basic salary is Rs 18,000:
The 3% DA hike after the revision in July will increase their total salary by Rs 540. This will increase their annual salary by Rs 6,480.
Central government employees whose basic salary is Rs 56,900:
After the DA revision, the monthly salary will increase by Rs 1,707 and Rs 20,484 annually.
With DA and DR crossing the 50% mark, there is speculation that DA and DR will be merged with the basic salary. This will increase the basic pay of lakhs of central government employees and pensioners. However, the government has not yet made any announcement on this revision of DA and DR.