Right now all eyes are on the central government. Announcement of DA yet not come. When does it come? Everybody is now finding this question’s answer. The government has yet to make a decision on raising the Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for central employees and pensioners. This significant announcement was anticipated before Holi, but it has been delayed by about a week. There were hopes that good news for employees would come after the Union Cabinet meeting on March 19, but that didn’t happen either. According to a report from Financial Express, the government could approve the increase at any time, with the delay attributed to necessary government procedures and financial approvals.
DA adjustments occur twice a year
This allowance is directly tied to a government employee’s basic salary and is adjusted biannually. The government revises the DA to help mitigate the effects of inflation on employees and pensioners. Typically, the DA hike for the January-June period is announced before Holi, while the July-December increase is revealed before Diwali.
However, this year, the announcement for the January-June 2025 increase was not made before Holi. It is believed that a 2% increase is likely, which would raise the DA from 53% to 55%. This adjustment is expected based on the AICPI (All-India Consumer Price Index) data for July-December 2024.
When can we expect the DA hike decision?
Reports suggest that the government might approve the increase in the upcoming cabinet meeting scheduled for next week. Once approved, the new DA will take effect from January 2025, and employees will also receive arrears for January, February, and March when they get their April salary.
For instance, if the basic salary is Rs 18,000, a 2% increase would add Rs 360 to the monthly salary, resulting in an extra Rs 4,320 over the year. Similarly, if the basic pension is Rs 9,000, the monthly increase would be Rs 180, translating to an annual benefit of Rs 2,160.