7th Pay Commission latest news: DA hike a reality, not a pay increase

New Delhi, July 17: The big news around the 7th Pay Commission is the possible hike in Dearness Allowance (DA).

There is absolutely no news on whether the government will hike the basic minimum pay and fitment factor for the Central Government employees.

However according to analysts and officials there is a good chance that the DA would be hiked by another 5 per cent. The Government is planning on hiking the DA once the AICPI figures are made available.

What CG employees must bear in mind is that the Dearness Allowance may be increased by 5 per cent. This could be the good news that may be on the way as a result of which the government did not take into account the demand for a hike in the basic minimum pay.

There is a possibility that the DA may be increased by 5 per cent. There is a tangible reason behind it and that is because, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, inflation has increased in April, 2019. However, there is a little uncertainty as CPI statistics for June, 2019 are yet to come and this will be revealed by the end of July.

This would mean that the DA would stand at 17 per cent. This would incidentally be the highest DA increment since 2016. The government had hiked the DA by 3 per cent in January 2019. At that time the AICPI stood at 301 and the DA at 10.36 per cent. If the index increases by 2 points then the DA calculation will be based on 17 per cent.

CG employees would however hope that their demand for a pay hike be met too. The 7th Pay Commission had recommended a pay hike of Rs 18,000.