18 Months Da Arear: Will the government give DA arrears of 18 months? This question is in the mind of many government employees of the country. Actually, the central government had stopped three installments of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for its employees and pensioners during the Covid-19 epidemic
18 Months Da Arear: Will the government give DA arrears of 18 months? This question is in the mind of many government employees of the country. Actually, the central government had stopped three installments of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for its employees and pensioners during the Covid-19 epidemic. The reason for this was cited by the government at that time as severe economic crisis and pressure of government finance. Since then, government employees are waiting for DA arrears of 18 months. Now on this issue, MP Anand Bhadoria asked a question in the Lok Sabha on 11 August 2025, in response to which the government gave official information.
What is DA and DR?
Dearness Allowance (DA) is given to government employees to reduce the impact of inflation. Similarly, Dearness Relief (DR) is given to pensioners, so that the impact of inflation on their income can be reduced.
Why were DA and DR installments of 18 months stopped?
The government said that the three installments due from January 2020, July 2020 and January 2021 were stopped in view of the economic shock and financial pressure of Covid-19. Revenue fell during the pandemic and the government had to spend on many additional welfare schemes, so it was decided to stop this amount.
Will there still be financial pressure?
The MP asked whether the government is still under financial pressure and is the country on the verge of bankruptcy? In response, the government said that this is not the case. The fiscal deficit of the Center was 9.2% in the financial year 2020-21, which has come down to 4.4% in the budget estimate 2025-26. That is, the financial status has improved, although the impact of Covid remained for a long time.
Will the outstanding DA and DR amount be available?
The government clearly said that the economic impact of Kovid-19 and the fiscal pressure to fund the schemes started at that time continued even after 2020-21. Therefore, it is not possible to release the DA / DR arrears amount of 18 months.
Due to government financial pressure during Covid-19, DA and DR installments of 18 months were stopped. According to the government, the financial situation is better now, but it is not possible to pay the arrears of that time in the budget. Employees and pensioners are getting further installments regularly, but the old amount stopped will not be returned.
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