The central government has increased the dearness allowance of its employees by four percent. Now the rate of Dearness Allowance i.e. ‘DA’ has increased from 42 percent to 46 percent. For the last several years, the DA of central employees has been increasing by four percent. DA rates may increase by four to five percent in January next year also. If this happens then the salaries of the employees will be revised. Many types of allowances will also increase by up to 25 percent.
The Central Government will have to constitute the Eighth Pay Commission. In that situation, the central government employees will feel good news. The Seventh Pay Commission had recommended that ‘pay’ revision at the Center should be done only every ten years, it is not necessary. There is no need to wait for this period. It can also be periodic. However, the Pay Commission has not given any clear definition as to when and after how much time the Pay Commission should be constituted.
You will get this benefit of DA being 50 percent
More than one crore central government employees and pensioners have got the gift of 4 percent DA increase from July 1st. C. Sreekumar, General Secretary, All India Defense Employees Federation (AIDEF), who raised the issue of ‘OPS’ in the National Council (JCM) staff side meeting, says that now the DA rate of the personnel has reached 46 percent.
After this, when there will be an increase of four or five percent in dearness allowance in January 2024, that figure will reach 50 percent or beyond. Then a strong proposal for the formation of the 8th Pay Commission will be presented before the Central Government. Let us tell you that in January 2023, the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI-IW) was 132.8. It was 132.7 in February. It increased to 133.3 in March. Reached 134.2 in April. It was 134.7 in May. CPI-IW jumped to 136.4 in June. DA of central employees increased by four percent since January. The DA rate has reached 42 percent in January and 46 percent in July.
Central employees hopeful, DA will reach 51 percent
Now central employees are hopeful that their DA rate may reach 51 percent in January next year. The government can increase it to five percent in January 2024. If this happens then the salaries and allowances of the employees will be revised. In July 2023, CPI-IW stood at 139.7. In August it compiled 139.2 points. CPI-IW may remain at 140.2 in September, October, November and December. In such a situation, he can get five percent DA in January 2024. If this happens then the government will have to constitute the Eighth Pay Commission. The Seventh Pay Commission was constituted in 2013, while its recommendations were implemented in 2016.
CPI-IW remained at 139.2 in August
The Price Index for Industrial Workers is compiled every 16 months by the Labor Bureau, an office of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, based on retail prices collected from 317 markets in 88 important industrial centers spread across the country. The index is compiled for 88 industrial centers and all India. This compilation is released on the last working day of the following month. The All India Consumer Price Index (CPI-IW) for August 2023 has declined by 0.5 points to 139.2 points. There was a decrease of 0.36 percent in the index compared to the previous month. An increase of 0.23 percent was recorded between these two months a year ago.
Index position during August
At the central level, Jaipur’s index has decreased by a maximum of 4.4 points. There was a decrease of 3 to 3.9 points in the other three centres, 2 to 2.9 points in 11 centres, 1 to 1.9 points in 13 centers and 0.1 to 0.9 points in 22 centres. In contrast, a maximum increase of 4.4 points has been found in Cuttack. This is followed by Jalandhar with an increase of 4.0 points and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Kollam with an increase of 3.7 points each. There has been an increase of 2.9 points in the other three centres, between 1 to 1.9 points in 9 centers and between 0.1 to 0.9 points in 18 centres. The indices of the remaining 4 centers remained stable. The inflation rate for August 2023 has been 6.91 percent compared to 7.54 percent last month and 5.85 percent in the same month last year. Food inflation rate was 10.06 percent compared to 11.87 percent last month and 6.46 percent in the same month a year ago.
Per capita income in the country increased by 111 percent
In the questions and answers given on this issue in Parliament, it has been said that between January 2016 and January 2023, there has been an increase of 42 percent in the salaries and pensions of the employees. Per capita income in the country has increased by 111 percent during this period. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary had told in the House that DA/DR is given to compensate for the reduction in the real value of salary and pension due to inflation. Now DA has increased to 42 percent. Per capita income tripled. Along with this, the prices of goods have also increased accordingly. Meaning, central government employees are working at low salaries. It has been said by the last three pay commissions that when DA reaches 50 percent, the pay should be revised in future to reduce the effect of inflation. DA will cross 50 in January 2024. The Minister of State for Finance said in Parliament that there is no proposal before the government to constitute the Eighth Pay Commission.
