The Central government employees are likely to get the big news related to Dearness Allowance (DA) soon. Expectations are now high that the Centre will take up the matter during the next cabinet meeting which is likely to take place in the first week of August.
If the government takes up the DA hike issue for discussion during the cabinet meeting and subsequently increases the allowance, it will put an end to the long wait of the employees.
Besides, the Central government employees will have a major hike in their salary as the DA for July-December is expected to be the highest this time.
How much will be the DA hike?
A record DA hike on the basis of the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission is expected this time and the reason is the recent All-India CPI-IW data for the month of May. If the data is anything to go by, there could be a DA hike of around or above 4 per cent.
The All-India CPI-IW for May 2022 increased by 1.3 points and stood at 129.0 (one hundred twenty nine points). On 1-month percentage change, it increased by 1.02 per cent with respect to the previous month compared to an increase of 0.42 per cent recorded between corresponding months a year ago.
It is worth mentioning that the AICP Index is a crucial factor in determining the DA. So, taking into account the good figure for May, a 4-5 per cent hike is what the CG employees are expecting. A 4 per cent increase will take the total DA to 38 per cent.
When will be the announcement?
According to the latest reports, an announcement may be expected by August 7. However, an official confirmation in this regard is still awaited.
Earlier, the Finance Ministry had stopped the DA hike from January 2020 until June 30, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, when it was resumed, the DA was hiked to 28 per cent from 17 per cent in July 2021.