Centre may increase DA by 5% in March 2023

According to media reports, the government employees under the 7th Pay Commission will get a hike in their dearness allowance (DA) by March 2023. Additionally, if these reports are to be believed, the centre also intends to increase the dearness relief (DR) for pensioners.

Generally, the DA and DR are revised twice a year between January and July. So, as the new year is around the corner, the central government employees are anticipated to get a 3 to 5 per cent hike in their DA for March 2023. The media reports further suggest that the central government employees will also receive the long pending 18-month DA arrears soon.

In the previous DA increment in September 2022, about 48 lakh central government employees and 68 lakh pensioners benefitted. The Centre increased DA by 4% in September 2022, bringing the total increase to 38%. Prior to this, the 7th Pay Commission raised the 34 percent DA received by central government employees in March 2022 by 3%.

However, the decision to increase the DA will be determined based on the inflation rate and the 7th CPC’s recommendations. There is a potential that the DA will be hiked further if the inflation rate is high at the time.