DA Hike for Central Govt Employees Put on Hold Amid Omicron Scare? Know What Govt Says

DA Hike For Central Government Employees: Fraudsters and scammers have once again come out of their shell with fake news and information amid a rising threat of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India. They have been taking advantage of the vulnerable position the citizens of the country are in. In one such recent incident, the government has debunked a fake claim that the Dearness Allowance (DA), Dearness Relief (DR) and arrears of central government employees expected in the month of January have been kept in abeyance due to the current Covid-19 situation. The news had surfaced online a day back, and the government had rejected the fake claim within hours.

What Was the Fake Claim About DA Abeyance?

In a fake letter, fraudsters claimed, “The undersigned is directed to say that in view of increasing cases of Omicron (COVID-19, SARS-2), it has been decided that Dearness Allowance payable to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief to Central Government pensioners, payable at current rates are to be kept in abeyance so as to deal with any unprecedented situation.”

“These orders shall be applicable to all Central government employees and Central Government pensioners. The finance department of all ministries is hereby directed to control additional expenditure as justifiable,” the letter added.

What Did the Government Say?

Debunking the information as fake, the Press Bureau of India clarified that no such order had been issued by the finance ministry. The government also shared a copy of the order with the word ‘fake’ stamped on it.

“A #Fake order issued in the name of the Ministry of Finance claiming that the ‘Dearness Allowance & Dearness Relief payable to Central Govt employees and pensioners will be kept in abeyance’ is in circulation,” the PIB said in its Twitter handle.

“No such order has been issued by the @FinMinIndia,” it added.

When Can Central Government Employees Expect a DA Hike?

The central government is likely to hike the dearness allowance of its employees, who might receive a good news as their New Year gift. Under the 7th Pay Commission, these employees may get another 3 per cent hike in their DA, if reports are to be believed. However, there is no official statement regarding this, and the government too has not commented anything on it. Dearness allowance is generally increased twice a year, in January and July, and all employees are going by this trend to anticipate the hike.

The Dearness Allowance is likely to be hiked in January 2022, if the government keeps up the trend and if existing reports are to be believed. This will affect over 33 lakh central government employees, who are waiting to get a hike in their salaries. The government provides DA to its employees  as a cost-of-living adjustment allowance. It is also applicable for public sector pensioners. The allowance is provided to these individuals to balance inflation, which has seen a steep rise during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government has presently frozen the arrears for central government employees and pensioners for the past two years amid the pandemic situation. Though earlier there were talks about releasing the arrears in January, the possibility seems quite faded now amid the Omicron threat.

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