Good news for government employees! DA hike announcement to be made soon, here's how much to expect this year

The decision to increase Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for central government employees has not been made yet. Earlier, it was being speculated that the government will announce the "good news" before Holi. Following this, reports suggested that the centre might take a decision on the same after a meeting of the Union Cabinet dated March 19. 

Now, sources claim that the government is likely to announce DA and DR for employees anytime and that the decision took a while due to intricate financial procedures and approvals. 

What is DA?

DA (Dearness Allowance) is directly linked to the basic pay of a government employee. It is calculated as a percentage of the basic/take-home salary. The aim is to help employees tackle inflation and rising prices.

The DA is hiked twice a year, for January-June before Holi and for July-December before Diwali respectively. However, this time, the DA hike for the first half of the year couldn't be announced due to aforementioned reasons. 

Meanwhile, it is expected that the government may announce a two per cent hike, which will increase the DA from 53 to 55 per cent. However, some experts even suggest that the DA hike can go up to two per cent, owing to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s revised inflation forecast. 

The next cabinet meeting will likely be held next week and accordingly, the announcement is expected to take place soon.