7th Pay Commission: Central government employees may get good news regarding their salaries as the Center may soon announce a hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Fitment Factor.
The minimum pay of government employees is expected to increase from Rs 18,000 for central government employees to Rs 26,000 after the increase in fitment factor. Reports say that the government may soon revise the fitment factor and dearness allowance (DA). However, no official statement has come from the government on this.
Fitment factor
The fitment factor is currently 2.57 percent. This means that if someone gets a basic pay of Rs 15,500 in say 4200 grade pay, then his total pay will be Rs 15,500×2.57 or Rs 39,835. The 6th CPC had recommended a fitment ratio of 1.86. There has been a demand of the employees to increase the fitment factor to 3.68. The hike will increase the minimum wage from Rs 18,000 at present to Rs 26,000.
DA Hike
Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) are revised twice a year, with effect from 1 January and 1 July. According to the recent media reports, the government may increase the Dearness Allowance by another 4 percent in July this year.
Last DA was revised in January
The last revision in DA was done in March by increasing 4 percent, which was considered to be applicable from January 1, 2023. After a 4 per cent hike, the DA of central government employees has increased to 42 per cent. Earlier in September 2022, DA was increased by 4 percent, which was considered to be applicable from July 2022. According to media reports, apart from the fitment factor, the government may soon revise the DA from July 1.
