Even though the Central government’s Budget 2021 had nothing for the middle class, there is some good news for Central government employees. As per latest reports, the Centre is going to announce dearness allowance for the central government employees. Yes, it is different that the dearness allowance in their salary will be added only after June. If their DA increases by 4 percent, then according to the recommendations Seventh Pay Commission, their travel allowance will also increase. That is, if four percent dearness allowance increases, then four percent travel allowance will also increase. And accordingly, their monthly take-home salary will also increase.
Right now, the dearness allowance of central employees is 17 per cent. After 4 percent increase, they will get dearness allowance of 21 percent, and four travel allowance will also increase. Altogether, there will be an increase of 25 percent to their salary. Central government employees must note that their DA of 17 per cent will continue till June 2021. When the Centre will increase their dearness allowance after June, their salary will witness a big jump. Moreover, the DA for the July-December 2020 period is also expected to be around 4 per cent following 7th Pay Commission recommendation.
This salary hike will bring a big relief to around 50 lakh central government employees and around 65 lakh pensioners. It is also expected that the improving economic situation in the country may lead the Central government to roll out the DA hike early this year.
In another development, the Centre decided to grant one-time relaxation for reimbursement of the cancellation charges for air/train tickets meant for their Leave Travel Concession (LTC) due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) issued an Office Memorandum (OM) in this regard.
