Dearness Allowance Hiked For Central Government Employees By 11 Percent

The wait is finally over for nearly 1.2 crore central government employees and pensioners as the government has approved the hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) from 17 per cent to 28 per cent. The Union Cabinet has confirmed the decision after the allowance was put on hold in 2020 after the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said that the decision would benefit more than 48 lakh central government employees and nearly 66 lakh pensioners. The hike in the allowance was due on January 1, 2020, July 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021. The rise in DA and DR will cause an extended annual burden of 34,401 crores on the national exchequer.

The Press release stated that the Centre had decided to increase the dearness allowance for central government employees, with effect from July 1, 2021, representing an increase of 11 per cent over the current 17 per cent. Therefore, the crease will only be effective from that date, and no arrears would be distributed.

Relief For Central Goverment Employees

The report comes as a massive relief for several central government employees waiting for the announcement on tenterhooks. The order comes days after several media organizations reported that an announcement regarding the DA and DR of employees is under discussion, reported Zee News India

The DA is calculated on an employees basic salary. If an employee earns ₹ 30,000 every month, then as per the 11 per cent increase, his DA would amount to ₹ 3300. Last time, when the hike was announced, the increment was not implemented as the country suffered an economic crunch due to several lockdowns.

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