Centre hikes DA for central govt employees to 28%

The government on Wednesday approved a hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) given to central government employees from 17 per cent to 28 per cent.  Sources confirmed that the Union Cabinet has taken a decision to hike DA after it was put on hold last year.

The development is a major relief for lakhs of central government employees who have been waiting for the announcement for months.

The move comes on the back of several media reports speculating that dearness allowance benefits under the Seventh Central Pay Commission (7th CPC) would be restored July.

Although the hike has been approved by the cabinet, it is not yet clear if central government employees will get the hiked DA benefit from September.

An earlier report suggested that it could take a while for the employees to get the hiked DA as several approvals are required. For any such delay, central government employees are likely to get arrears accruing from July 1, 2021.

At least three DA instalments were due before the hike was approved by the cabinet — one from last year and two from this year. An 11 per cent DA hike has been approved as part of the three pending instalments.