A hike in the minimum pay is one of the long-standing demands of the Central government employees. While the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is yet to take a decision to enhance the basic pay beyond the recommendation of the 7th Pay Commission, an increase in the Dearness Allowance (DA) of the employees seems to be on the cards.
If media reports are to be believed, the Centre is mulling to hike the DA of Central government employees ahead of the New Year celebrations. According to Zee Business report, a four per cent increase in the DA of the employees is expected soon owing to the rise in inflation between July and December this year.
If the Centre announces four per cent hike in DA, the monthly salary of central government employees will go up by Rs 720 to Rs 10,000 per month. It is worth mentioning that DA is announced twice in a year.
Earlier in October this year, DA of the central government employees was increased by five per cent- from 12 per cent to 17 per cent. The decision reportedly cost the exchequer Rs 16,000 crore.
“This is the highest ever 5 percentage points increase in DA in one go by the central government,” Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had said then while making the announcement.
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On the other hand, the Central government employees who are presently getting Rs 18,000 basic pay, have been demanding an increase of Rs 8000 in the minimum pay. If their present fitment factor (2.57 times) is hiked to 3.68 times (as per the demand), they will get Rs 26,000 as the basic pay.