7th Pay Commission: Variable DA for CG employees hiked, all you should know

New Delhi, May 21: The government while making a major announcement under the 7th Pay Commission decided a hike in the Variable Dearness Allowance for more than 1.5 crore Central Government employees.

The allowance will be raised by Rs 105 to Rs 210 a month. The increase, which will be effective from April 1 2021 will also increase the minimum wage rate for employees. The government also stated that the rates fixed for scheduled employment in the Central sphere are applicable to the establishments under the authority of the Central Government, Mines, Railway Administration, Oil fields, major ports or any corporation established by the Centre. These rates would be equally applicable to casual employees and contract workers.

In its notification, the Labour Ministry said that the Variable Dearness Allowance will be applicable from April 1 2021.

This will benefit about 1.50 crore workers engaged in various scheduled employments in central sphere across the country. This hike in VDA will support these workers particularly in the current pandemic times, said Labour and Employment Minister, Santosh Gangwar.

"The VDA is revised on the basis of average Consumer Price Index for industrial workers (CPI-IW) a price index compiled by Labour Bureau. The average CPI-IW for the months of July to December 2020 was used for undertaking the latest VDA revision," the statement issued by the Labour Ministry read.