7th Pay Commission latest updates: Good news for Central govt employees as DA, DR hike may be announced before….

7th pay commission: Great news for Central Government employees as the Union Government is likely to release the 18-month Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) arrears, which were withheld during the during the COVID-19 pandemic, ahead of the Diwali festival.
Earlier, speaking during the monsoon session of Parliament, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary had said the government had not yet considered releasing the said arrears, which were stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a financial crunch faced by the state during the period.
However, according to reports, the Centre is now mulling to release the funds to over 70 lakh employees on the occasion of Dussehra, even though no official announcement has been made so far in this regard.
Release of DA arrears
As per media reports, the Narendra Modi government is likely release the 18 month arrears to the employees along with upcoming installment of dearness allowance (DA). The arrears, which includes three installments — January 2020, July 2020 and January 2021– that were halted during the COVID era due financial difficulties, will now be paid in full to the employees before Diwali, in addition to their DA, they said.
DA hike likely?
Reports quoting sources said the government is also considering a 3 to 4 percent hike in the dearness allowance, which will take the DA to 53 percent of salary. The DA hike will reportedly be approved at a Cabinet meeting before Diwali even though there was no mention of the said matter in the recent cabinet meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Additionally, its being speculated that the DA hike will be applicable retroactively from July 2024, which means employees will receive three months of arrears.
DA increase twice a year
Notably, under the 7th Pay Commission, DA is hiked twice in a year, and this the government will likely announce the second hike in last week of October or the first week of November.