Centre To Increase Dearness Allowance To 17% From 12%

New Delhi: Central government is likely to approve a hike in dearness allowance (DA) to 17 per cent from the existing 12 per cent, benefiting around 30 lakh Centre’s employees and its 50 lakh pensioners including dependents.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

“The five per cent DA raise has been confirmed with the release of June 2019 All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI). The AICPI for June 2019 is 316, which is two points more that May 2019 AICPI,” an official said.

He said the Finance Ministry will now put a Cabinet proposal for approval of 5 per cent DA hike from July 1 this year as the revised Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers data for June was released by Labour Ministry on July 31.
With increase in DA, the pensioners will also gain as the benefit provided to them as dearness relief will be hiked to 17 per cent of basic pension.

The government had increased DA to 12 per cent from 9 per cent with effect from January 1, 2019, on February 27 on the basis of agreed formula for revision of the Dearness allowance.

The five per cent hike in DA would be the biggest since the implementation of the 7th pay commission recommendations in 2016.

The DA announcement may come this month and the government may not delay the DA announcement for the festival season beginning with Dussehra.

The central government employees will get 17 percent DA in the salary of September 2019.

TST