Before Holi, the central government is going to give a big gift to its employees. If reports are to be believed, the government may soon announce an increase in Dearness Allowance (DA). No official statement has come from the government yet. Earlier media reports were estimating that government employees could get a DA hike of 3 percent. But, now recent data indicates that employees may be disappointed.

The announcement may be made before Holi.
This time Holi is on March 14. It is believed that the Modi government can give a big gift to government employees by announcing a DA hike before March 14. Not only this, Dearness Relief (DR) is also expected to increase along with Dearness Allowance. This means that the pension of pensioners will also increase.

DA revision is done twice a year.
According to the rules of the 7th Pay Commission, Dearness Allowance is revised twice a year. The first hike comes into effect from January 1. It is usually announced in March. At the same time, the second increase comes into effect from July 1, which is announced in September. This time the announcement of the DA hike to be implemented from January 2025 is expected to be made this month i.e. in March.

How is dearness allowance decided?
The central government increases the dearness allowance in the salary of employees based on the All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPIN-IW). This index reflects inflation and consumer price levels in the country. The government decides on a DA hike by taking a six-month average of this figure.

How much can DA increase this time?

Labor Bureau data shows that CPI-IW has reached 143.7 in December 2024. On this basis, the DA of central employees is expected to increase by 2 percent. This increase will be effective from January 2025. Earlier it was estimated that government employees could get the benefit of a 3 percent DA hike.

How much allowance will be given after the DA hike?

Under the 7th Pay Commission, the current dearness allowance is 53.98 percent. After this 2 percent increase, it will become 55.98 percent. Lakhs of central employees and pensioners will get direct benefits from this.

When will the official announcement be made?

Although there has been no formal announcement from the government yet, it is expected that a big update regarding the DA hike may come in the first or second week of March. This will also give Holi gift to the government employees.

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