7th Pay Commission: Next DA hike coming in March? Know how much salary will increase

New Delhi: Even as lakhs of central government employees are waiting for update on 18-month pending DA arrears and hike in fitment factor, news reports are already speculating about the next hike in Dearness Allowance (DA).

As per latest reports in the media, the government employees might get upto 3-5 percent hike in DA in the wake of high inflation rates.

The Union Cabinet had on 28 September 2022, approved the release of additional instalment of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief @ 4 percent to Central Government employees and pensioners due from 01.07.2022 based on the percentage increase in 12 monthly average of All India Consumer Price Index for the period ending June, 2022.

After the hike in Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief in September this year, the issue regarding the payment of 18 months-pending Dearness allowance (DA) arrears has been largely discussed in the media. The issue regarding payment of DA arrears of 18 months from January 2020 to June 2021 has long been pending for cabinet discussion and deliberation.

As per the media speculations, the DA arrears of employees at Level-3 can be estimated between Rs 11,880 to Rs 37,554. For Level-13 or Level-14, the arrears of employees can range between Rs 1,44,200 to Rs 2,15,900. However, upon further negotiations with the government, these figures might also change, said reports previously.