The wait for the increase in the Dearness Allowance (DA) of central government employees and the Dearness Relief (DR) of pensioners is getting longer. This increase is done twice a year, but this time its announcement is getting delayed. Earlier it was expected that like last time, this time too it would be announced before Holi, then the news came that it could be approved in the Union Cabinet meeting to be held on March 19. But no decision has been taken on this till now. Now it is believed that the government can put a final seal on it next week. Do you also want to know when and how much DA will the central employees get? So let’s know.
When can the DA hike be announced
Now that the decision to increase the Dearness Allowance (DA Hike) has already been delayed, it is likely that the government may approve it in the Cabinet meeting to be held next week. If this happens, the increased DA will be applicable from January 2025. This means that employees and pensioners can also get the arrears of January, February and March along with the salary of April.
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Who will benefit from the DA hike
Central government employees are given dearness allowance (DA or Dearness Allowance) based on the current inflation rate and their basic salary, while pensioners get dearness relief (DR or Dearness Relief). Their purpose is to reduce the burden of inflation on employees and pensioners. The government changes it twice a year based on the inflation rate.
The new rates of dearness allowance are applicable for the half year from January to June and then for the half year from July to December. The benefit of the dearness allowance announced by the government is available only to government employees and those working in public sector undertakings (PSUs) i.e. government companies. Private sector employees do not get benefits.
How much increase can there be
The government usually announces the January-June hike before Holi and the July-December hike before Diwali. But this time the increase of January-June 2025 could not happen on time. According to sources, given the current level of inflation, this time there is a possibility of a 2% increase in DA, which can increase the DA rate from 53% to 55%. This increase will be done based on the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for July- December 2024.
How much benefit can be gained from increasing DA?
If the basic salary of an employee is Rs 18,000, then after a 2% increase, he will get Rs 360 more every month. In this way, there will be an additional income of Rs 4,320 in a year.
At the same time, if the basic pension of a pensioner is Rs 9,000, then with a 2% increase, he will get Rs 180 more every month. That is, he will get an additional benefit of Rs 2,160 in a year.
However, in some media reports, an increase of more than 2% in DA has also been expected. Actually, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the inflation rate forecast for the current financial year from 4.5% to 4.8%. In such a situation, it is also expected that the government can increase DA more in view of the impact of inflation, which can go up to 4%.
All eyes on the government’s decision
The announcement of the increase in DA by the government will bring relief to government employees and pensioners, as it will increase their salary and pension. However, this time the increase is expected to be less than in previous years, which may also cause some setbacks to the expectations of the employees. Now all eyes are on the government to see when and in what form this decision comes.
Inflation relief
Central employees and pensioners are waiting for inflation relief. The government can take a decision on this soon. In this era of inflation, employees hope that they will get relief soon.
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