The DA of Central government employees is updated two times a year between January and July.
Employees and pensioners of the Central government have been waiting a long time for a piece of good news regarding the Dearness Allowance (DA) hike this Holi i.e. March 18, 2022.
Several media reports, over the past few days, said that the Central government employees can expect their DA to go up by 3%, effective January 1, 2022. However, a report in Zee News now states that the government has categorically refused to revise the rate of increasing Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief for central employees and pensioners. In response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary said that there is no need to increase the DA by more than 3 percent.
Response in Rajya Sabha
Speaking about the increase in DA and DR, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary said in the Rajya Sabha that according to the All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI-IW) released by the Union Ministry of Labor, DA will be based on the inflation rate. The government also told Parliament that the inflation rate in the last two quarters has been more than 5 percent.
No plans to increase DA more than 3%
Rajya Sabha MP Naranbhai J Rathwa had asked the Minister of State for Finance on Tuesday why the increase in dearness allowance of central government employees and pensioners has been kept constant at 3% while the rate of inflation is high. However, in response to this, Pankaj Chaudhary said that the government does not plan to increase the DA by more than 3 percent. There is no need to revise the rate of increase in dearness allowance and dearness relief for central employees and pensioners, he said.
Notably, the current total Dearness Allowance (DA) is 31%, which might have increased to 34% if the Centre had permitted it. The DA of Central government employees is updated two times a year between January and July. The DA is calculated by multiplying the current rate of dearness allowance by the base wage.
