7th Pay Commission: Govt Employees' Salaries To See Hike Soon As DA, Fitment Factor Likely To Go Up

Central government employees are likely to get good news soon regarding their salaries as the Centre may soon announce a hike in dearness allowance (DA) and fitment factor, according to media reports. The DA, which is provided to employees and pensioners to compensate them for rising prices, is revised twice a year — January and July.

After the hike in the fitment factor, the minimum salary of government employees is expected to see a rise from Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000 for central government employees, according to the reports. However, there is no official word on this.

DA Hike

The last revision in DA was done in March raising it by 4 per cent, which became effective from January 1, 2023. After the 4 per cent hike, the DA of central government employees increased to 42 per cent. Now, if the government raises DA by 4 per cent this time also, going by the reports, the DA will increase to 46 per cent.

The Fitment Factor

The common fitment factor currently stands at 2.57 per cent. It means that if somebody, let’s say, gets a basic pay of Rs 15,500 in 4200 Grade Pay, his total pay will be Rs 15,500×2.57 or Rs 39,835. The 6th CPC had recommended the fitment ratio at 1.86.

There has been employees’ demand of raising the fitment factor to 3.68. The hike will raise the minimum wage from Rs 18,000 currently to Rs 26,000.

How DA Hike Is Calculated?

The central government revises the DA and DR for employees based on a formula. Following is the formula:

Dearness Allowance Percentage = ((Average of All-India Consumer Price Index (Base Year 2001=100) for the past 12 months -115.76)/115.76)x100.

For Central public sector employees: Dearness Allowance Percentage = ((Average of All-India Consumer Price Index (Base Year 2001=100) for the past 3 months -126.33)/126.33)x100.