Centre likely to hike DA by 3% to 45%; over 1 crore employees to be benefitted

Centre is likely to hike dearness allowance for its employees and pensioners by 3%. The hike will be effective from July 1, 2023. The dearness allowance is revised periodically twice a year.

The Labour Bureau releases the most recent Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) each month, which is used to calculate the dearness allowance for employees and retirees. The Labour Bureau is a wing of the Labour Ministry. The DA hike will be effective from July 1, 2023.

The central government is likely to increase the dearness allowance (DA) for its over one crore employees and pensioners by three per cent to 45 per cent. Beginning on July 1, 2023, the latest increase in the dearness allowance will take effect. All India Railwaymen Federation General Secretary Shiva Gopal Mishra stated that they are requesting a 4% increase in dearness allowance although the decision has not yet been made.

"The CPI-IW for June 2023 was released on July 31, 2023. We want the dearness allowance to increase by four percentage points. But the increase in the dearness allowance amounts to only a little bit over three percentage points. As a result, the DA is projected to rise by three percentage points to 45%," Mishra told PTI.

Presently, over one crore central government employees and pensioners are getting a 42 per cent dearness allowance. The most recent DA modification was completed on March 24, 2023, and it took effect on January 1, 2023. Based on the percentage rise in the 12-month average of the All India Consumer Price Index for the period ending December 2022, the Centre hiked DA by four percentage points to 42 per cent.

The DA is provided to employees and pensioners to compensate them for rising prices. The cost of living increases over a period of time and is reflected through CPI-IW. The allowance is revised periodically twice a year.