7th Pay Commission: DA hike for govt employees likely today after cabinet meet

New Delhi: The Central government is likely to declare DA hike for the central government employees after the cabinet meeting today as the Union Cabinet meetings are generally held every Wednesday.

President of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers Rupak Sarkar has as per a report said that the DA hike is expected in the next meeting of the Union Cabinet ahead of Holi festival.

If media reports are to be believed, the Centre is likely to announce a hike of 2% in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for the government employees on Wednesday.

Once announced, the DA hike will benefit over 12 million central government employees and retirees under the 7th Pay Commission. With this pay revision, the DA would increase from 53% to 55% of the basic pay.

The government employees must be knowing that the Centre usually announces DA and DR hikes twice a year – once one in March and then in October. The DA hike announced in March is generally implemented from January and the DA hike announced in October is generally effective from July.

As Cabinet meetings are generally held on Wednesdays, there is a strong possibility that the DA increase will be discussed in the meeting today.

How much DA hike expected?

If reports are to be believed, DA will increase by 2% from 53% to 55% of the basic pay. Previously, the Centre increased DA by 3% from 50% to 53%, in October 2024. In the prior hike in March 2024, DA was hiked from 46% to 50%.

How DA is calculated!

In general, the DA hikes are calculated based on the All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW) data. The Centre then assesses the past six months’ figures before deciding on any revision.