Finance
Various states, ranging from Odisha and Karnataka to Tamil Nadu, have approved increases in dearness allowance for government employees ahead of Diwali. While some states have declared a 3% DA increase, others have announced a 4% DA increase for their employees. The decision comes after the Centre increased DA for government employees by 4% last week.
The Centre’s decision raises the DA for central government employees to 46% from the current 42%, with the increase taking effect on July 1, 2023. Look through the list of states that have increased DA for its employees.
Tamil Nadu Hikes DA by 4%
On Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced a 4% DA hike for government employees with effect from July 1, 2023. The state government said the move will benefit about 16 lakh state government employees, teachers, pensioners and family pensioners.
The Tamil Nadu government in May this year had hiked DA by 4 per cent for state government employees and pensioners. The DA was increased from 42 per cent to 46 per cent.
Odisha Hikes DA by 4%
Last week, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik hiked dearness allowance for state employees by 4%. With this hike, the DA and DR has now increased to 46 per cent from 42 per cent. The state government said the enhanced amount will be paid from July 1, 2023 retrospectively. The DA hike will benefit 4.5 lakh state government employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners in Odisha.
Karnataka Hikes DA by 3%
On Saturday last week, the Karnataka government hiked dearness allowance for the state government employees by 3.75 per cent. The state government said it was revising the dearness allowance from the existing 35 per cent to 38.75 per cent. With the hike, the state government will spend an additional Rs 1,109 crore from the state exchequer.
The state government in March this year has hiked the basic salary of up to 17%, after it received backlash from the employee unions. The state also then announced setting up a committee to study the feasibility of reverting to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
Diwali Bonus For Railway Employees
Union Minister Anurag Thakur announced that railway personnel will earn a bonus equal to 78 days’ pay, helping more than 11.07 lakh non-gazetted employees of the national transporter. He went on to say that the decision will benefit track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers (guards), station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, pointsmen, ministerial staff, and other Group ‘C’ employees, but not RPF and RPSF employees.
According to Thakur, the government estimates that the payment of the Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) to railway employees will cost Rs 1,968.87 crore.
“In recognition of an excellent performance by the railway staff, the Union government has approved the payment of a PLB of Rs 1,968.87 crore to 11,07,346 railway employees.
“The performance of the railways in the year 2022-2023 was very good. The railways loaded a record cargo of 1,509 million tonnes and carried nearly 6.5 billion (650 crore) passengers,” an official statement said.
Source:In
