According to a report carried by News18, this new year, the Central government employees are likely to get a DA hike by 3%, this new year. Under the 7th pay commission, this hike could increase the salary up to Rs. 20,000. 

The current DA rate stands at 31% which have been hiked in October by 3% and by 11% in July. The hike in July was made after the government froze the DA in 2020 and January 2021.

The DA is calculated on the basis of the base pay of employees. It forms an integral part of the gross income of the government employees. It is traditionally hiked twice a year in order to adjust for inflation in the economy. As the price of consumer goods rise, it is to be expected that the government increases the DA accordingly as well.

As per the reports, apart from the DA hike, the Central Government is also planning an increase in the fitment factor which determines the basic pay for all the central government employees. It was last hiked in 2016 which pushed the minimum basic pay to the slab of Rs. 18,000 from Rs. 6,000. The likely increase to the fitment factor is going to bring the minimum basic salary to Rs 26,000 as calculated.