Government employees and pensioners get the Dearness Allowance from the Government of India. The DA from Jan 2024 has a 240.65% percent increase over 115.76 for the 6th CPC DA. Now, many recipients are wondering about the DA from July 2024 as generally, the announcement of the hike comes in March. Let’s explore the expected DA from July 2024.
Expected DA from July 2024
Dearness allowance or DA is a cost of living adjustment allowance paid to government employees and pensioners by the government of India.Â
The allowance aims to compensate for the rise in the cost of living due to inflation to government employees and pensioners.
The Labour Bureau revises the DA twice a year to ensure the cost of living covers for the recipients, which generally happens in January and July.
The government authorities generally announce the hike in DA in March, so the DA recipients can expect the hike in July and the increment in their salary or pension.
According to recent reports, in January 2024 the authorities confirmed the 4% hike in DA/ DR. The All-India CPI-IW for Jan 2024 has hiked by 0.1 points and stands at 138.9 in the base year 2016.Â
Currently, the DA rate stands at 46%, so government employees and pensioners can expect a 4% hike in Dearness Allowance.
The hike will benefit government employees leading to a salary increase, and other allowances like House Rent Allowance (HRA) and Children Education Allowance (CEA).Â
| Month | Base Year 2016=100 | % increase over 115/76 for the 6th CPC DA | % increase over 261.42 for the 7th CPC DA |
| Jan 2024 | 138.9 | 240.65% | 50.84% |
| Feb 2024 | 138.9 | 241.94% | 51.42% |
| March 2024 | 138.9 | 243.09% | 51.93% |
| Apr 2024 | 138.9 | 244.10 % | 52.37% |
| May 2024 | 138.9 | 244.97% | 52.76% |
| June 2024 | 138.9 | 245.47% | 52.98% |
The expected hike in DA from July 2024 is 245% for the 6th CPC and 52% for the 7th CPC. The central government will likely announce the DA hike during the general election or in March.
Formula for the DAÂ
The DA calculation is based on the (CPI-IW) Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers. In October 2021, the government revised the CPI-IW base year from 2001 to 2016.
The formula for calculating DA for the 7th CPCA:
DA% = {AICPI Average (base year 2001=100) for the 12 months – 261.42}261.42 100
Remember this formula is for the 7th pay commission to review and recommend the changes in the salary of government employees.
The DA rate for the 7th pay commission from 2016 is recorded in the following table:
| Year | DA rate |
| 2016 | Jan 0; July- 2% |
| 2017 | Jan 4; July- 5% |
| 2018 | Jan 7; July- 9% |
| 2019 | Jan 12; July- 17% |
| 2020 | Jan 17; July- 17% |
| 2021 | Jan 17; July- 28% |
| 2022 | Jan 34; July- 38% |
| 2023 | Jan 42; July- 46% |
| 2024 | Jan 50; July – TBA |
Impact of DA hike on the salary of government employees
The hike of 4% in DA effective from Jan 2024 will increase the salary of government employees. The salary increase is likely to benefit the central government employees.Â
For instance, let’s consider the employee has a basic monthly salary of Rs 53, 500. With 46% Dearness Allowance, his DA was Rs 24,620. Now, with the expected hike, the DA rate will become 50% making his DA Rs 26,750.Â
Therefore, government employees can expect a raise of Rs 2000 in their basic salary after the DA hike. With the DA hike, the employees can expect a raise on the allowances of HRA and CEA. The official announcement of the hike can come by the end of March 2024.
Impact of DR hike on the pension of Pensioners
The Dearness relief is provided to the central government pensioners. The DR hike is similar to the DA hike.Â
With a 4% rise in DA, the pensioners of the central government can see a rise in their pension salary.Â
For instance, a pensioner gets a monthly pension of Rs 40,000. With 46% DR, he would get Rs 18,400, and with 50% the pension DR would rise to Rs 20,000.Â
The DA hike tends to enhance their power to manage costs due to the increase in inflation. The current inflation rate has gotten down to 5.10%, the government employees can expect a certain raise in the DA from July 2024.Â