Mumbai, March 8: Central government employees under the 7th pay commission are likely to receive the festive gift of Holi soon as the Centre could take decisions on pending demands soon. For a long time, government employees have been demanding to raise dearness allowance. DA arrears, and Fitment Factor rate. However, there has been no official announcement on any of the employee's demands.

According to a report in DNA, the Narendra Modi-led government could announce the DA hike after the festival of Holi. If reports are to be believed, the Centre could also hike Fitment Factor for its employees under the 7th pay commission along with the dearness allowance hike. 7th Pay Commission Good News: Centre Likely To Form 8th Pay Commission Soon, Implementation in 2026; Check Latest News Update Here.

Dearness Allowance Hike:

Every year, Central government employees receive the dearness allowance hike twice. The DA is hiked in January and then six months later in July, Last year, the government hiked the DA of its employees in March and then in September. The Centre raised DA by 4 per cent in September 2022 thereby taking dearness allowance to 38 per cent from 34 per cent. This time too, employees are expected to receive a similar hike.

Fitment Factor:

The demand to raise the fitment factor rate has been gaining momentum since the Centre raised DA to 38 per cent in September last year. Employees want the government to raise the fitment factor rate from 2.57 times to 3.68 times. Earlier, the fitment factor stood at 1.86 per cent under the 6th Pay Commission recommendation. If the Centre hikes the fitment factor rate then the salary of government employees is also likely to receive a major boost. 7th Pay Commission: Central Government Employees to See Salary Increase Soon As DA Hike, Fitment Factor Revision Likely After Holi, Says Report.

18-Month DA Arrears:

Besides the DA hike and Fitment Factor rate, government employees under the 7th pay commission are awaiting a decision regarding the release of dearness allowance arrears. Government employees have not been paid dearness allowance arrears of 18 months from January 2020 to June 2021. The Centre had stopped DA arrears release in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is to be seen if the Centre makes announcements on pending demands of government employees or not. Meanwhile, reports also state that the government could introduce a new pay commission soon, however, the Centre said that it has not received any proposal as such.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 08, 2023 04:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).