New Delhi, February 4: Despite no announcement in Union Budget 2020-21, the central government are still hopeful of an increment in the dearness allowance (DA). According to reports, the Narendra Modi government is considering to hike the key allowance, along with the dearness relief (DR) for pensioners, to offset the impact of inflation. 7th Pay Commission: Budget 2020 Makes No Mention of DA Hike or Wage Increment for Central Government Employees.

Ahead of the rollout of Budget, reports had claimed that the Centre could be announcing a hike in DA from 17 percent at present to 21 percent. However, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made no mention of DA hike or revision in wages as per the 7th Pay Commission.

According to sources linked to Jansatta, the government is still "seriously considering" to raise the DA of central government employees by four percent. The announcement would come amid spiralling costs, with vegetable inflation jumping to a record-high og 60.5 percent last month.

A similar move was adopted by the governments of Odisha, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where the DA of state employees were raised by 5 percent to combat inflation. The announcements, however, have been made before the rollout of Budget in the respective states.

Apart from the DA hike, a section of the central government employee unions have also been demanding the government to revise the minimum wages under the 7th Pay Commission. While the entry-level salaries, as per the seventh pay panel report implemented in July 2016, is Rs 18,000. The union have been seeking an increment to Rs 21,000.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 04, 2020 11:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).