7th Pay Commission : Central government employees can get good news soon regarding their salary. The central government may soon announce an increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) and fitment factor.
The DA given to employees and pensioners is revised twice a year in January and July to compensate for rising prices. According to media reports, after the increase in the fitment factor, the minimum pay of government employees is expected to increase from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000 for central government employees.
DA hike
The last revision in DA was done in March. Then DA was increased by 4 per cent. These new rates have been implemented from 1 January 2023. After a 4 per cent hike, the DA of central government employees has increased to 42 per cent. Now if the government increases DA by 4 percent this time also, then DA will increase to 46 percent.
Fitment factor
The normal fitment factor is currently 2.57 per cent. 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 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.
How is DA hike calculated?
The Central Government revises DA and DR for the employees on the basis of a formula. This is its formula.
Dearness Allowance Percentage = ((All India Consumer Price Index Average for last 12 months (AICPI average) (Base Year 2001=100) -115.76)/115.76)x100
For Central Public Sector Employees: Dearness Allowance Percentage = ((Average of All India Consumer Price Index Numbers for last 3 months (Base Year 2001=100) -126.33)/126.33)x100
