7th Pay Commission: Up to 5% increase in DA expected for central govt employees; here's why

7th Pay Commission: The central government employees didn't find any mention, especially with regard to their demand of an increase in minimum wage, in the Union Budget 2019. These employees were expecting a positive announcement on their long-pending demands of a hike in minimum pay and fitment factor beyond the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission in the Union Budget 2019, but to no avail. However, there may be good news for them as, experts believe, the central government employees could get an increment in Dearness Allowance (DA) of up to 5 per cent, reported Zee Business. The central government employees and other staffers across various states are paid as per the 7th Pay Commission system.

The DA is a cost of living adjustment allowance paid to government employees and pensioners to offset the impact of inflation. The effective salary of government employees requires constant enhancement to help them cope up with the increasing prices.

Harishankar Tiwari, Former Secretary and Assistant Secretary of All India Audit and Accounts Association who calculates government employees DA, told the channel that the key reason to expect a hike in DA was the increase in inflation rates in Consumer Price Index (CPI) data in April and  May.

The Central Government had increased the DA by 3 per cent in January. At that time, AICPI was 307, which means, the DA was 13.39 per cent on a monthly basis. Earlier, the DA was increased by two per cent in the Union Budget 2018. At that time AICPI was 301 and the DA was 10.36 per cent. Experts believe if index is increased by 2 points in a month, the revised DA comes around 16-17 per cent.

Recently, Saibaba Sansthan Trust  also decided to increase their salaries as per the 7th Pay Commission's recommendations. The trust has decided to implement the decision retrospectively from 2016. The 7th Central Pay Commission was constituted in February 2014 to review the principles and structure of emoluments of all central government employees.

Also read: Good news for Saibaba Sansthan employees! Trust decides to pay salaries as per 7th Pay Commission

Also read: 7th Pay Commission: No announcement on minimum wages for central govt employees in Union Budget 2019