Central Govt Employees, Pensioners to See Lowest DA Hike in 7 Years

The Union cabinet is set to decide on the Dearness Allowance (DA) hike this week. If it gets approved, the new DA will be implemented from January 2025. This means that the employees will get an increase in salary during March and will also receive two months’ arrears.

Reportedly, central government employees as well as pensioners may feel dissatisfied as they are expected to see only a 2% increase in their Dearness Allowance (DA) instead of the 3% or 4% they have received in previous years.

The upcoming increment of 2% marks the lowest raise since July 2018, which equals to 78 months.

Notably, the government revises Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief two times in a year, i.e., January and July. The recent increase in DA occurred in July 2024, rising from 50% to 53%. Prior to this, the cabinet approved an increase from 46% to 50% in March 2024.

The government has increased DA and DR by 3% on October 16, 2024 under the 7th Pay Commission, thereby capping both to 53%, effective from July 1, 2024.