7th Pay Commission: Central government employees may get big post-Budget surprise, details inside

7th Pay Commission latest news: Lakhs of central government employees are eagerly awaiting confirmed news regarding the next round of Dearness Allowance (DA) hike. Meanwhile, the government may also greenlight a continued demand of central employees after Budget 2023.

The minimum salary of central government employees may see a hike after the Union Budget 2023 is presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, as per a report by Zee News. There has been an ask for increasing the basic salary with employees’ side arguing that DA hikes should be supported in face of rising inflation. 

As per latest reports, the government may also consider revising the fitment factor of salaries of central government employees under 7th Pay Commission rules. The common fitment factor for government employees is currently 2.57 times. The demand is to hike this figure to 3.68 times which will bring a hike of Rs 8,000 over Rs 18,000 currently. 

Meanwhile, the central government is also likely to hike the DA of central government employees in March 2023. The first DA hike of 2023 will be effective from the month of January. Latest AICPI figures came as a slight disappointment to those employees expecting a higher than 4 percent hike this time. 

After rising between April and October, the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPI) number remained stagnant in November. The AICPI is crucial to deciding the hike amount of DA for government employees. An increase would have fueled expectations of a bigger DA hike. A 3 percent hike in January 2022 was followed with a Diwali bonanza for central government employees in the form of a 4 percent DA hike. 

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