DA Hike Update: In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary had said that ‘the dues of DA/DR are for the year 2020-21. This is not possible in 2020 due to the negative impact on the economy during the pandemic and the huge expenditure on welfare measures.
Dearness Allowance Arrear: If you are a central employee or there is a central bank employee in your family, then this update is for you. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 18 months of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) of central employees and pensioners were stopped. There has been a demand from the government employees for a long time to give the pending DA. Now Mukesh Singh, General Secretary of Bharatiya Immunity Mazdoor Sangh, has written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this regard. Through the letter, he has requested to release the outstanding DA of 18 months.
Had refused to give three installments in Lok Sabha
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the central government had stopped the payment of DA and DR for 18 months from January 2020 to June 2021. Earlier, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary had said that ‘the outstanding of DA/DR is for the year 2020-21. This is not possible in 2020 due to the negative impact on the economy during the pandemic and the huge expenditure on welfare measures.
Contribution of government employees appreciated
In the letter written on behalf of Singh, it was said that ‘I completely understand the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic impact it has had. For this reason, three installments of DA and Dearness Relief (DR) for the financial year 2020 were stopped. However, as the country is recovering from the impact of the pandemic, the financial condition of the country is also improving, which is quite pleasing. He also said, ‘I would like to tell about the contribution made by government employees and retired employees in challenging times like the pandemic. His dedication and hard work was instrumental in ensuring the smooth functioning of essential services.
Request to release three installments in the budget
Keeping in view the improvement in the financial condition and the responsibilities performed by the government employees, I request you to review the decision of releasing the three withheld installments of Dearness Allowance (DA) in the upcoming budget session. He also said that ‘the government has allocated funds to deal with the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that releasing the outstanding installments of DA withheld will contribute to the welfare of government employees and retired people. This will be for those who have served the country.
What is dearness allowance?
Dearness Allowance (DA) is a part of the salary of government employees and pensioners. Its purpose is to reduce the effect of inflation. To deal with rising inflation, the salaries of government employees are reviewed from time to time. The central government changes DA twice every year in January and July. Last time the DA and DR of the employees was increased from 42% to 46% by the Central Government. The announcement made in October was implemented from July 1, 2023. This step of the government had benefited 48.67 lakh central employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners. The next DA will be implemented from January 1, 2024. An announcement related to this is possible in March 2024.
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