Ahead of the festive season, the BJP-led central government had announced an increase in the Dearness Allowance (DA Hike) of central employees in the past and increased it by 3 percent. After this, the dearness allowance received by them increased from 50 percent to 53 percent. Meanwhile, such discussions also intensified about whether this increased DA will be merged with the basic salary of employees before the revision of the dearness allowance in January 2025. Let’s know what the latest update is…
Discussions of merging DA intensified
Giving a big gift to central employees by the central government, the DA was increased from 50% to 53% in the past and it is effective from 1 July 2024. After this increase, there was a discussion about the possibility of merging DA with the basic salary. There is speculation about whether Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief Allowance will be automatically merged with basic pay.
According to the report, in this case, the government has maintained its stand that dearness allowance will not be linked to basic pay, even if it has crossed the 50% limit. Quoting a senior official, the report said that during the 5th Pay Commission, it was recommended to merge dearness allowance with basic pay if it exceeds 50%. But after that, it did not include the issue.
Know what says experts
The report also quoted several experts to deny the possibility of merging DA with basic salary. Vishal Gehrana, Principal Associate at Karanjawala & Co. and Advocate on Record of the Supreme Court, said the Fifth Pay Commission had recommended simplifying the salary structure and merging it with the basic pay to ensure that the salary structure was simplified. This was seen as a way to avoid the DA hike indefinitely. However, it was not included under the 6th and 7th Central Pay Commissions.
According to other experts, Induslaw partner Debjani Ach dismissed such discussions as speculation and said that the increased DA will not be included in the basic salary of the central government employee. Sanjeev Kumar, partner, Luthra and Luthra Law Office, India, also said that no such measure was recommended in the 7th Pay Commission report.
When will the DA of central employees increase now?
The government revises the DA and DR twice a year for employees and pensioners. These announcements are usually made in the months of March and September-October of the year. Which are effective from January and July, respectively. With this, central employees get salary for April and October with arrears of two to three months. Now talking about the next hike in DA, the new DA hike may be announced before the festival of Holi in March 2025.
