The January 2024 hike was also announced in March, ahead of the Holi festival. The Centre increased the dearness allowance by 4%, raising it to 50% of the basic pay on March 6 this year. This was followed by another 3% hike in October, bringing the final tally to 53%.
7th Pay Commission News: The next dearness allowance (DA) revision for central government employees is due in January 2025. However, the announcement in this regard may take some time as the government will wait for the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPIN) numbers till December month to reach a final calculation for DA revision.
When will govt announce DA hike for January 2025?
The Centre announces DA hikes for employees and pensioners twice a year — for the January-June and July-December cycles. Since the AICPIN data for the last months, such as June and December (before the DA becomes due), comes with a lag, the government usually announces hikes after the final calculation for the six-month AICPIN data is available. For example, so far, the data is available for July-October 2024, and to calculate the DA hike, the government also needs the numbers for November and December. The December data is expected in February 2025. Past trends suggest that the government announces DA hikes for both six-month cycles with a two-month lag and provides arrears to employees and pensioners.
The DA hike for the July-December period was announced in October this year and the next revision announcement is expected in March 2025. The January 2024 hike was also announced in March, ahead of the Holi festival. The Centre increased the dearness allowance by 4%, raising it to 50% of the basic pay on March 6 this year. This was followed by another 3% hike in October, bringing the final tally to 53%.
How much DA hike central govt employees can expect in next revision in 2025?
As mentioned earlier, DA is increased based on AICPIN data. By October 2024, the AICPIN index had reached 144.5, which could push the dearness allowance to 55.05%. It is expected that the AICPIN index may reach 145.3 in November and December. This could result in a dearness allowance hike to 56% in January 2025.
If the DA for January 2025 is increased by 3% by the central government, the minimum salary will rise by Rs 540, as the current minimum basic pay for central staff is Rs 18,000. Similarly, for pensioners, the hike will be Rs 270, as the minimum pension currently stands at Rs 9,000 for central government pensioners.
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The maximum salary of serving employees stands at Rs 2,50,000 and the maximum pension at Rs 1,25,000. For them, the DA hike will be Rs 7,500 and Rs 3,750 for serving employees and pensioners, respectively, if the Centre increases DA by 3%.
Meanwhile, employee unions have increased pressure on the government to announce the 8th Pay Commission, which will provide recommendations on salary and pension revisions for over 1 crore central government employees and pensioners. The 8th Pay Commission is expected to be implemented from January 1, 2026, as claimed by employee unions based on past trends, wherein the government usually sets up a pay commission every 10 years.
