Before the Holi festival, the government may provide a significant benefit to central employees through a potential decision on their Dearness Allowance (DA) in the upcoming 15 days. It is anticipated that during a cabinet meeting on March 1, the government may announce an increase in DA, which would result in a surge in central employees' salary. At present, no official statement has been released on this matter. If the government approves the rise in DA, then central employees would also receive arrears for January and February.
Several employee organizations are hoping for a 4% DA/DR hike, which would increase their current DA from 38% to 42%. Approximately 48 lakh central employees and 63 lakh pensioners could benefit from this decision. Typically, the Central Government increases DA/DR annually from January to July. However, there have been delays in recent years.
Last year, the government increased central employees' DA by 4%, leading to an increase in their DA from 34% to 38%. For instance, if a central employee's basic pay is Rs 18,000, their current DA would be Rs 6,840 (calculated at the rate of 38%). If the government decides to raise the DA to 42%, the employee's DA would increase to Rs 7,560.
For employees with a maximum basic pay of Rs 56,000, the DA would increase from Rs 21,280 to Rs 23,520 with a 4% hike. In contrast, employees with a minimum basic salary would receive a benefit of Rs 720 per month and Rs 8,640 annually. DA is an integral part of government employees' salary structure, and the government revises it every six months.