7th Pay Commission latest news: Another DA hike for Central govt employees soon? Details here

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre recently increased the Dearness Allowance (DA) as well as the Dearness Relief (DR) for lakhs of Central government employees.

It is to be noted that the DA of the Central government employees has now beed incresed from 17 per cent to 28 per cent and the new DA will come into effect from July. Now, some reports are claming that the Centre may approve the Dearness Allowance for June as well and it is expected that the Centre would approve a DA hike of another 3 per cent in the coming days.

If the Centre takes this decision then the DA of the Centeal government employees will jump to 31 per cent and their salary will increase significantly.

The DA was first increased in January when the government hiked it by 4 per cent and then in June it was hiked by another 3 per cent. In January 2021, the DA was once again increased by 4 per cent and if the Centre decides to hike it again by 3 per cent then the total DA will climb to 31 per cent mark.

Notably, the government has already announced that it will not pay for any DA arrears for the period between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. The new DA rates will help around 48 lakh central government employees and 65 lakh pensioners across the country. The Centre's decision to hike the DA of central government employees also prompted states like Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Haryana, Karnataka and Rajasthan to increase the DA of state employees.

Earlier, the Central government decided to hike the Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA), which put it in a range of Rs 105 to Rs 210 per month. The new rates will come into effect from April, 2021. 

"It will be for scheduled employment in central sphere and applicable to the establishments under the authority of central government, railway administration, mines, oil fields, major ports or any corporation established by the central government. These rates are equally applicable to contract and casual employees/workers," the ministry of labour & employment said in a statement.