DA Hike 2025: The central government has increased the dearness allowance for employees by 2% to 55%. This will benefit more than 1 crore employees and pensioners.
New Delhi: The central government has made a big announcement for its lakhs of employees and pensioners. The Union Cabinet meeting held on Friday approved a 2% increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) of government employees. This will increase DA from 53% to 55%, and this decision will benefit more than 1 crore employees and pensioners. Notably, this increase has been made even before the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission.
How much will the salary increase due to DA increase?
Dearness Allowance is given as a percentage of the basic pay of the employee. For example, if the basic pay of an employee is Rs 36,500, then his current DA is Rs 19,345. After the new 2% increase, his DA will be Rs 20,075. Apart from this, arrears of DA increase will also be available from January.
Similarly, if a pensioner’s basic pension is Rs 9,000, he currently gets DA of Rs 4,770. As per the new rates, this will increase to Rs 4,950.
How is the DA increase schedule and calculation done?
The Central Government increases DA twice a year – in the months of January and July. The All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI) is used to determine the rate of dearness allowance. This index is used to calculate the DA of Central and State Government employees according to the inflation rate in the country.
How can pensioners get Dearness Relief (DR)?
Dearness Relief (DR) is given to pensioners instead of DA. Pensioners also get the benefit of the increase in DA and it also increases their pension. The government had earlier increased DA by 3% in October 2023, while before that it was increased by 4% in March 2023.
Millions of employees across the country will benefit.
There are currently about 48.67 lakh central government employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners in India. The DA hike will provide them with some financial relief in their salaries and pensions.
Will state government employees benefit?
The decision to increase DA is taken for central government employees. However, most state governments increase the DA of their employees on the lines of the center. Some states also increase DA according to their own decisions. Therefore, good news can be received for state government employees soon. This decision of the central government will provide financial relief to lakhs of employees and pensioners.
