7th Pay Commission: Central govt employees receiving DA hike again? Check details here

New Delhi: The Modi government can distribute DA arrears of 1.5 years, or 18 months, to employees in a single go as a one-time settlement of Rs 2 lakh. Although there has been no official announcement from the administration on the subject, negotiations are ongoing. From January 2020 to June 2021, central staff have consistently demanded the withheld DA.

According to Shiv Gopal Mishra, Secretary (Staff Side) of the JCM National Council, the council has made a request to the government, but no solution has been found thus far. According to Moneycontrol.com sources, discussions with the cabinet secretary have taken place. Meanwhile, the labour union insists that the arrears of dearness allowance be settled once and for all.

According to Mishra, the JCM would shortly hold a joint meeting with officials from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure. It is predicted that 18 months of DA arrears would be discussed at this meeting, and due to the upcoming elections, the government will be unable to provide assurance on 18 months of arrears.

Shiv Gopal Mishra of the National Council of JCM was mentioned in an earlier report by Zee Business as saying that the DA arrears of Level-1 employees varied from Rs 11,880 to Rs 37,554. Employees at Level-13 (7th CPC basic pay scale Rs 1,23,100 to Rs 2,15,900) or Level-14 (pay scale) will owe Rs 1,44,200 and Rs 2,18,200 in DA arrears, respectively. If the Union Cabinet approves, central personnel and nearly 65 lakh pensioners will continue to benefit from the related benefits.

Dearness Allowance is a component of government employees' and pensioners' salaries. In order to keep pace with rising inflation, the federal government revises DA and DR benefits twice a year, in January and July. Employees' DA differs depending on whether they work in the urban, semi-urban, or rural sectors.

When the government raised DA in October, it benefited 48 lakh central government employees and 65 lakh retirees across India.

Central government employees are receiving a Dearness Allowance of 31%. The most recent increases were made in July and October 2021, following a months-long halt due to the Covid-19 epidemic. In October, the Union Cabinet increased dearness allowance and dearness relief by 3% to 31% to help 47.14 lakh Central Government employees and 68.62 lakh retirees.