7th Pay Commission Latest News: The Central government employees who are waiting for an announcement on a hike in dearness allowance (DA), here comes a big update for them. This time, they might have to wait a bit longer for their DA hike announcement. Earlier, reports suggested that the Central government might announce the DA increase in the first week of September, which seems unlikely now, and as per latest reports, the Centre is likely to announce the hike closer to the Haryana assembly election date to gain some political advantage. As per the EC announcement, Haryana will go to polls on October 5.
Looking at the past trend in the last few years, the DA hike is announced every year a week or fortnight before the Diwali festival but this time, it is likely to be announced a bit early due to the elections.
DA hike announcement likely before assembly polls
Reports suggest that the Centre may announce a DA hike for central government staff and pensioners in the last week of September, just a few days before the Haryana Assembly polls. Once announced, over 1 crore serving employees and pensioners might see their DA or dearness relief increase by up to 4%.
It should be noted that the Central government generally hikes DA and DR for employees and pensioners twice a year -- once in January and then in July -- with announcements usually made in early March and October.
When will DA arrears be released?
Amid these developments, the Central government employees are waiting for another announcement on DA arrears. If the DA hike is announced by the end of September, then the Central government can expect a hike in the salary/pension for October month, which means the employees would receive 3-month arrears, i.e. July to September.
