Last year, the government halted the additional DA for central government workers in order to free up financial resources in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister of State(MoS) for finance, Anurag Thakur said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on March 9 that the three pending instalments of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) would be restored from July.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the additional DA and DR instalments for central government employees and pensioners, which were due on January 1, 2020, July 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021, were frozen.

“Three pending instalments of central government employees’ Dearness Allowances and Dearness Relief for retirees will be restored. The rates will be merged into the DA’s accumulated updated rates “

According to the minister,

In his reply to the Upper House of Parliament, Anurag Thakur also claimed that the government was able to save more than Rs 37,000 crore by deferring additional DA and DR during the coronavirus crisis.

According to the 7th Pay Commission’s norms,

The actual rate of DA for central government employees is 17%. Last year, the Centre approved a 4% increase, bringing the allowance rate to 21%.

However, a health crisis was declared due to the outbreak of a pandemic before the DA instalments could be charged at the increased rates.

In April 2020, the Finance Ministry agreed to place a temporary hold on the release of DA and DR instalments at the new increased pace.

The additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) payable to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) payable to central government pensioners, due from 1st January 2020, will not be paid due to the crisis caused by Covid-19. Additional DA and DR instalments due on July 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021, will not be paid, stated the Finance Ministry.