The central government has announced an increase in dearness allowance for central employees and pensioners. A big decision has been taken in the meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to this increase, dearness allowance will increase by 2% to 55%, which will be applicable from 1 January 2025. This will benefit more than 1 crore employees and pensioners.
The salary of April will also include an increased DA with an arrear of the last three months (January-March 2025). This means that employees will get the benefit of lump sum.
How much additional benefit will be given?
1. Example
- Basic Pension: Rs 8,000
- Additional benefits per month: Rs 160 (2 percent)
- An additional benefit annual: Profit of Rs 1,920
2. Example
- Basic Salary: Rs 18,000
- Additional benefits per month: Rs 360 (2% increase)
- An additional benefit annual: 4,320 profit
Serving government employees get DA, while pensioners get DR. At the same time, now the attention will be focused on the formation of the 8th Pay Commission, because the government may soon announce the names of the panel members.
What is da?
DA means dearness allowance, this is a type of allowance that the government gives to its employees so that they can maintain their standard of living with increasing inflation. This allowance is a certain percentage of the employee’s basic salary and it varies from time to time so that the effect of inflation can be reduced.
After the cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the Union Cabinet has approved the release of an additional installment of dearness allowance (DA) and pensioners to the Central Government employees from January 1, 2025. With two percent increase, dearness allowance has increased from 53 percent to 55 percent of the original salary/pension. Its purpose is to give relief to employees from inflation.
The increase in both DA and DR will have an impact of Rs 6,614.04 crore annually on the government exchequer. This step will benefit about 48.66 lakh employees and 66.55 lakh pensioners of the central government.
This growth is according to the approved formula, which is based on the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission. DA and DR are paid to accommodate the cost of living and to provide relief to employees and pensioners from inflation.