The government has announced to increase in the Dearness Allowance (DA) for Central Government Employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for Central Government Pensioners by 4 percent. After the change in rates for DA and DR, the workforce is supposed the increase in DA, which will be in effect from July 2023.
As per the All-India CPI-IW data which is issued by the Labour Bureau of India, the Government governs the DA rate. Currently, the Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief rate for employees and pensioners is 42%.
As per the experts, if the index number remains the same (132.7 points) in the upcoming months then there will still be a 3 percent increase in the Dearness Allowance. Hence, the DA/DR might be increased to 45 percent in the upcoming revision.
DA is revised according to the newest Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW index) of the past months. A Ministry of Labour and Employment release says that the All-India CPI-IW decreased by 0.1 points for the month of February 2023 and now it is 132.7 points. The data for March will be released soon as per the sources and it is anticipated that there will be a hike of 3% to 4% in DA based on the previous month's index point.
However, the All-India CPI-IW will release the preceding month's data such as for the month of March, April, May, and June 2023 before anticipating the Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief rate for the month of July 2023 confirmation.
The Dearness Allowance is given to employees in addition to basic pay. It is generally calculated as per the 7th Pay Commission Pay Matrix. It excludes all other special remuneration and more.
