Central government employees eagerly await the 7th Pay Commission DA/DR announcement as Tripura leads with a 3% hike (Photo: Pinterest)
Millions of employees and pensioners working for the central government all over India are now waiting for the next installment of their Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR). The allowances are revised biannually for updating those against inflation with the second revision for 2025 being overdue.
The Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers have formally approached the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for early settlement of the dues as a growing unrest is being witnessed due to the delay.
DA is the allowance paid to government employees and pensioners in view of a cost-of-living adjustment to guard employees against the inflation impact on their gross earnings. It is computed according to an alteration in the Consumer Price Index or CPI and helps an employee who has to face an increase in the prices of goods, services, etc.
DR is given only to pensioners, and it offsets the loss in real values of pensions over time due to inflation and maintaining the purchasing power of the pensioners even when the price increases.
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The government has revised DA and DR twice a year first revision occurs in March covering the period from January to June while a second revision occurs in September or October for the period from July to December.
Normally the announcement regarding the second revision is made at the end of September so that the clearance of the arrears for the months concerned follows just after that as the deadline approaches, government employees are hoping that the announcement regarding the increase shall be made so that they can get their October salaries along with that revised allowance and arrears.
DA calculation is tied to inflation itself which is measured by the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW). The calculation takes into account the average CPI-IW over the past year and compares it with a base figure of 261.42. The formula is DA (%) = [(Average CPI-IW for 12 months - 261.42) / 261.42] * 100.
This mechanism is established to protect from erosion of the real purchasing power of the employees and pensioners on rising prices.
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The Confederation has also urged fetching out the Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) and any ad-hoc bonuses urgently with the immediate approach of festivals like Durga Puja. These bonuses and allowances are paid on time for the benefit of the employees and the letter requests immediate government action for relaxing burdens.
Apart from DA/DR issues, there is great loss of morale among employees due to the delay in the setting-up of the 8th Pay Commission while earlier pay commissions used to be set up swiftly and the indefinite delay at present.
The ensuing DA hike for July-December 2025 will be the last revision under the 7th Pay Commission which is due to dissolve by the end of the year.
The Tripura state government has announced a 3% increase in DA and DR which will come into force from October 1, 2025. This would benefit more than 1 lakh employees and several pensioners. There is still a 19% gap in the DA that Tripura's state employees are entitled to concerning their central government counterparts and putting a limelight on arbitrary inequities.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not guarantee specific government announcements or change Verify with official sources.
