Government teachers, academic staff to get DA bonanza with effect from July 1, 2017

As 2019 Lok Sabha Elections just around the corner, the Union Cabinet has been announcing a slew of bonanza offers for government employees of the Centre and states. With the Narendra Modi-led BJP government increased the dearness allowance (DA) by 3 per cent for 48.41 lakh central government employees and 62.03 lakh pensioners, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has also given its nod to the 7th Pay Commission recommendations for teachers, equivalent academic staff, registrars and Central Universities and colleges examination controllers. According to a UGC circular, the revised pay scale would be implemented from July 1, 2017 for government teachers, registrars, principals and other stakeholders involved.

In a bid to woo voters ahead of the crucial General Elections, the Narendra Modi-led BJP government on Tuesday increased the dearness allowance (DA) by 3 per cent with effective from January 1, 2019. The hike, which comes into effect following the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission, will also benefit about 48.41 lakh central government employees and 62.03 lakh pensioners. This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission.

"The Cabinet has approved additional DA of 3 per cent over the existing rate of 9 per cent to government employees and dearness relief to pensioners from January 1, 2019, finance minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the Cabinet meeting," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both DA and DR would be Rs 9,168.12 crore per annum and Rs 10,696.14 crore in 2019-20 (for a period of 14 months from January 2019 to February 2020), Jaitley added.

Other employee friendly moves approved under the 7th Pay Commission include the 300 per cent hike in the allowance for the central government employees handling cash and treasury and over 200 per cent increase in the running allowance for the railway employees.

In his Budget 2019 speech, interim finance minister Piyush Goyal had announced full tax rebate to salaried class earning up to Rs 5 lakh from the current Rs 2.5 lakh, a move which is likely to provide relief in the face of rising cost of living and inflation. Under the revised income tax slab, people who earn less than Rs 5 lakh annually, will get full tax rebate.