7th Pay Commission latest update: The confirmation of the next round of Dearness Allowance (DA) is eagerly anticipated by over a crore pensioners and employees of the central government. It is anticipated that the Centre will announce a 4% DA increase, which would be the most significant sign yet regarding the DA hike in January.
In light of rising costs, DA is crucial for the thousands of central government employees and thousands of pensioners. On September 28, 2022, the government increased DA by the same amount in the previous increment.
Beginning on July 1, 2022, that raise became effective for central employees. The DA percentage increased from the previous 34% to 38%. The DA was increased from 31% to 33% during the January 2022 increase.
It is likely that the DA hike in January 2023 will be greater than the DA hike in January 2022; Shiva Gopal Mishra, General Secretary of the All India Railwaymen Federation, concurred with the expectation. He has disclosed that the agreed-upon formula puts the DA hike at 4.23 percent for December 2022 based on the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW).
It is likely to be a 4% increase because the government omitted decimal points from the final announcement figure. The Labor Bureau publishes the CPI-IW monthly around the end of the following month. It serves as the foundation for the DA calculation for central government employees.
On January 31, 2023, the CPI-IW for December 2022 was made available. The increase in the cost of living allowance amounts to 4.23 percent. However, the government does not take into account DA increases beyond the decimal point.
According to Shiva Gopal Mishra, the Finance Ministry’s Department of Expenditure will come up with a proposal for the increase now that the numbers have been released and the final DA hike is almost certain. The implications for revenue will also be detailed in the proposal.
The Union Cabinet will then consider this proposal for approval of the DA increase. The likely 4% increase is expected to be announced in March, according to reports. Beginning on January 1, 2023, the increase will take effect for central government employees.
