DA hike: Jharkhand increases employees' dearness allowance by 3%; check details

DA hike: The dearness allowance (DA) for Jharkhand government employees has been raised to 53% of basic pay, starting July 1, an increase from the previous 50%. Pensioners will also see an increase in dearness relief by 3 percentage points, now standing at 53%. These decisions were approved during a cabinet meeting led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren and will impact over 300,000 employees and pensioners.

The decision to increase DA for its employees by the Centre follows a recent trend of enhancing financial assistance for government workers in light of escalating inflation.

Dearness Allowance (DA) is a portion of an employee's basic salary that is designed to offset the impact of inflation on their living expenses. This allowance is adjusted regularly, typically every six months, to align with changes in the cost of living index.

In addition to the increase in dearness allowance, the government also raises a range of associated allowances, including:

House Rent Allowance (HRA)
Tough Location Allowance
Conveyance Allowance
Special Allowance for Children of Women with Disabilities
Children's Education Allowance
Hotel Accommodation
Reimbursement of Traveling Charges for Travel within the City (Touring Station)
Reimbursement of Food Charges/Lump Sum Amount or Daily Allowance for journeys performed by own car/taxi, auto rickshaw, own scooter, etc., in places where no specific rate has been specified by the director of transport of the respective state or neighboring state.

DA reaches 53%. What's next

The Centre regularly announces biannual increases in dearness allowance (DA) for employees and pensioners, covering the periods of January-June and July-December. The latest DA hike for the July-December period was announced in October of this year, with the next revision expected in March 2025. The January 2024 hike was also announced in March, prior to the Holi festival. On March 6 of this year, the Centre raised the dearness allowance by 4%, reaching 50% of the basic pay. This was followed by an additional 3% increase in October, resulting in a final tally of 53%. 

Due to the delay in receiving AICPIN data for certain months, such as June and December (prior to the due date for Dearness Allowance), the government typically waits until the final calculation of the six-month AICPIN data is available before announcing any hikes. As of now, data has been compiled for July to October 2024, but in order to determine the DA increase, the government also requires the figures for November and December. The anticipated release of the December data is in February 2025. Historical patterns indicate that the government announces DA increments for each six-month period with a two-month delay, resulting in retroactive payments to employees and retirees.