Mumbai, September 21: While Central Government employees await to hear the good news of dearness allowance and dearness relief hike, the Odisha government has brought some much-needed relief for its employees. The state government has increased Dearness Allowance (DA) or Dearness Relief (DR) for employees and pensioners by 3 percent. After the decision by the Naveen Patnaik cabinet, the DA and DR hike for state government employees now stands at 34 percent from the previous 31 percent.

According to reports, besides the DA and DR hike, the state government will also pay the pending arrears of the employees from January to August 2022. This mean, employees will also receive the arrears of 8 months along with the 3 percent DA/DR hike. The decision by the state government is likely to benefit at least four lakh employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners across the state. 7th Pay Commission: Good News Ahead of DA Hike As Centre to Make Announcement on Promotions of Government Employees Soon.

When Will Centre Increase DA and DR Hike?

As per reports, the central government is also likely to announce an increase in DA and DR soon. If reports are to be believed, the Centre will increase the dearness allowance of employees and dearness relief of pensioners by 4 percent. The decision regarding the same will be taken during the Union cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If the DA and DR hike is increased by 4 percent then the hike will stand at 38 percent from the previous 34 percent.

Based on the 7th Pay Commission recommendation, the Centre will increase the DA and DR hike for central government employees and pensioners. The Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief are increased twice every year. First, it is increased in January and then the second hike is announced in July. Reports also said that the DA and DR hike file has been submitted to the Union Cabinet, however, final approval is awaited.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 21, 2022 05:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).