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- By Aditya Pratap Singh
- Fri, 28 Mar 2025 03:34 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
7th Pay Commission DA hike: The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a 2% hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for central government employees, Economic Times reported citing sources. sources said. With the latest revision, DA will increase from 53% to 55%, facilitating salary hikes for employees and pensioners ahead of setting up the 8th Pay Commission.
The amendment, which will be implemented retrospectively from January 1, 2025, comes ahead of the formal constitution of the Eighth Pay Commission, which will be discussed with various stakeholders in the next few months.
Lowest DA Hike in 7 Years
Usually, the government announces DA hikes before festivals like Holi and Diwali, but this year the dearness allowance hike for the January-June cycle was not announced before Holi. In terms of the numbers, this is the lowest in the last 7 years. Since July 2018, the government has increased it by at least 3% or 4% every time, but this time it has increased by only 2%.
The last time the dearness allowance was increased was in July 2024, when the union government announced a hike of 3% (DA was increased from 50% to 53%).
DA Hike Rate
The DA rate is calculated as per the All India Consumer Price Index (Industrial Labour) readings for the months of January and December. This index is considered as the benchmark for calculating DA of central government employees, which provides monthly DA readings to the Centre and the states.
DA is a cost of living adjustment paid to government employees to offset the effects of inflation. It ensures that salaries maintain their purchasing power even as costs rise. The basic salary is fixed by the commission once in 10 years, while DA is revised periodically to reflect inflationary trends.
