Cabinet approves 3% increase in DA for Central Govt Employees

The Central Government has agreed to raise the Dearness Allowance (DA) for government employees by 3%. The DA has been raised from 31 to 34 percent. The Union administration made the decision during a cabinet meeting.

The rise in Dearness Allowance, or DA, comes as a comfort to central government employees in the face of rising gasoline prices and growing inflation. Because of the Covid-19 epidemic, the growth in DA has been halted.

The dearness allowance is granted to central government employees to compensate for the impact of inflation on their salary. It applies to both workers and retirees.

The dearness allowance previously given to union government employees and pensioners was 31%, and the 3% increase announced in the meeting to the DA was 34%. This decision will benefit approximately 50 lakh government employees and 65 lakh pensioners.

The most recent DA increase was in October of last year, when it was raised from 28 percent to 31 percent. The government used to pay employees 18k in dearness allowance; now, that amount will be raised to 24,000 as part of the recently announced DA hike.

The DA and DR are presently at 34 percent, with the latest increase taking effect in January 2022. Dearness Allowance is a component of central government employees' pay that is designed to protect them from the effects of inflation. Dearness Relief (DA), the term "relief" refers to the assistance provided to pensioners.

According to the government, "this rise is in conformity with the established formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission."

In the face of rising petrol and oil prices, as well as inflation, the move is expected to help around 47.68 lakh central government employees and 68.62 lakh pensioners.

The total impact of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief on the exchequer would be Rs 9,544.50 crore per year.

Every year, between January and July, the government updates the DA and DR. 

However, they differ from person to person depending on whether they are- the urban sector, semi-urban sector or the rural sector.