7th pay commission: The government had stopped 3 additional installments of DA and DR for one and a half year due to corona epidemic.
The Central Government has decided to increase the Dearness Allowance (DA) for the 7th pay commission central employees and pensioners. The rate of dearness allowance has been increased from 17 per cent to 31 per cent. This increase has been done after one and a half years and it will benefit about 1.14 crore central government employees and pensioners. The hike in DA and DR will put an additional burden of Rs 58,401 crore on the exchequer.
Will they also get dues?
The government had stopped 3 additional installments of DA and DR for one and a half years due to the corona epidemic. Now the question is, will the government pay the dues of these installments? The government made it clear that the arrears would not be given. The government has said that the arrears of DA withheld during the period from 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2021 will not be given. The DA percentage which was created during this period has been added and restored with effect from July 1.
In fact, the Chief Spokesperson of the Government of India, Jaideep Bhatnagar said, the cabinet has restored three installments of DA and DR with effect from July 1, 2021. DA will increase by 14%, i.e. 17% on the first basic pay and increased at the rate of 14%. Overall, DA will be given 31 percent of the basic pay.
DA and Salary Calculation
1. According to the 7th Pay Commission, DA is increased twice a year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had stopped three installments of DA and DR. These installments were – 4 percent on 1 January 2020, 3 percent on 1 July 2020 and 4 percent on 1 January 2021. Overall, 11 per cent became DA which got frozen. Now it has been restored from 1st July.
2. DA i.e. Dearness Allowance is a component of the salary of central employees and pensioners. Keeping the inflation in mind, the central government announces an increase in dearness allowance twice a year in January and July. The DA of each employee varies. For example, the amount of dearness allowance is different in urban, semi-urban and rural areas.
3. Till June 30, 2021, the central employees used to get 17% dearness allowance. Now from 1st July the total DA was 28% whereas from October, the DA has become 31%. At present, if central employees get Rs 18000, then now their salary will increase by 14 percent.
4. The government will not pay DA arrears for the period between 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2021. The increased DA will be given from 1st July 2021 only. However, Central Government employees and pensioners have not received DA and DR for 18 months from 1st January 2020 to 30th June 2021. After the demand of the employees, the proposal has reached after PM Modi. On which the Prime Minister can take a big decision by the end of this month (November).
5. There has been an increase of 11 per cent in the amount of DA and DA stalled in the last three installments. The same 11% DA and DR has come into effect from July 1. That is, from 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2021, DA and DR will remain the same at 17%.
Increase in monthly salary
Till June, the central employees were getting 17 per cent dearness allowance. Now this allowance has increased to 31%. For example, if the basic salary of an employee is Rs 20 thousand, then DA at the rate of 17% is Rs 3400 per month.
Now this DA will increase to Rs.6200. That is, the salary for the month will increase by Rs 2800. Similarly, if the basic salary is Rs 50,000 per month, the DA will increase from Rs 8500 to Rs 15,500. That is, an increase of Rs 7000 in the monthly salary. This hike has been valid from October 1. At the same time, once again there is talk of increasing the salary of central employees. It is believed that the HRA of the employees will be increased soon.
