Finance Ministry to put a Cabinet proposal for approval of 7% DA hike

Government is likely to approve a hike in dearness allowance (DA) to 107% from the existing 100%, benefiting around 30 lakh Centre's employees and its 50 lakh pensioners including dependents.

"The average rate of retail inflation for industrial workers from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 works out to be 7.25%. Thus the Central government will hike dearness allowance for it employees by 7%," an official said.

He said the Finance Ministry will now put a Cabinet proposal for approval of 7% DA hike from July 1 this year as the revised Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers data for June was released by Labour Ministry yesterday.

With increase in DA, the pensioners will also gain as the benefit provided to them as dearness relief will be hiked to 107% of basic pay.

The previous UPA government had increased DA to 100 per cent from 90 per cent with effect from January 1, 2014, on February 28 on the basis of agreed formula for revision of the allowance.

However, the central government employees' union is not very enthused by the 7% hike in the dearness allowance as their long pending demand of merger of DA with basic pay has not been given heed by 7th Pay Commission and the government.

"The erosion of value of wages is unbearable at 50% dearness allowance. Now it will be 107%. It is high time to merge DA with basic pay to provide relief to employees," Confederation of Central Government Employees' President KKN Kutty told PTI.

"We had summited our memorandum in this regard to 7th Pay Commission. They forwarded it to Central Government. We have apprised about the issue to the newly elected NDA government. But no decision has been taken so far," he said.

With merger of DA with basic pay, the salary and allowances paid in proportion of basic pay are increased. As per earlier practise DA was merged with basic pay once it breached 50% mark. But 6th Pay Commission has disallowed that.