7th Pay Commission: Central govt employees salary to increase from July 1? Read reports on expected DA hike

7th Pay Commission Latest update--The AICP numbers for April-May and June are yet to come. If this figure goes above 126, then the government can increase the DA by 4%.

New Delhi: 7th Pay Commission Latest update-- Government employees may be in for some more good news in the month of July. The government might announce another round of hike in the Dearness Allowance (DA), thus giving another reason to central government employees to rejoice, media reports have said.

The first increase in dearness allowance for the year 2022 was announced in March. Latest media reports are stating that the next revision in July is likely due to the increase in the AICP Index. In December 2021, the AICPI figure stood at 125.4. But, in January 2022, it declined by 0.3 points and fell to 125.1. The All-India CPI-IW for February, 2022 decreased by 0.1 points and stood at 125.0 (one hundred twenty five). On 1-month percentage change, it decreased by 0.08 per cent with respect to previous month compared to increase of 0.68 per cent recorded between corresponding months a year ago. For the month of March, there was a jump of 1 point. The AICPI index figures for March stands at 126. The AICP numbers for April-May and June are yet to come. If this figure goes above 126, then the government can increase the DA by 4%.

If reports are to be believed, there could be a further four percent hike in DA. This means the total DA could reach upo 38 percent. 

March AICPI index figures, which is instrumental in DA revision decision, have shown promise for a DA hike. The DA hike could come around 4 percent in July-August period, although the ACPI figures of the coming three months i.e April, May, June is yet to be ascertained.

The Dearness Allowance of central government employees is revised twice a year. The first is given from January to June, while the second comes from July to December. 

It may be recalled that the Union Cabinet had on March 30 hiked Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) by 3 per cent to 34 per cent to compensate for the price rise, benefitting over 1.16 crore central government employees and pensioners.

The additional instalment is be effective from January 1, 2022. The increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission. With the recent announcement, the hope for the next DA hike, which usually is stipulated for the month of July, has also taken pace. However, one bad news could be that the DA hike, scheduled for July may not be announced.