This week, the Centre has altered the way dearness allowance (DA) is calculated for the government employees. As per the latest update from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the new Wage Rate Index (WRI) with base year 2016=100 will replace the old one with base year 1963 – 65=100.
Thirty-seven industries have been covered in the new WRI basket compared to the 21 covered in the previous series.
This is not the first time the Government is revising the base. It was done in 2016 too, as per recommendations of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the National Statistical Commission, with the objective of making the WRI more efficient. The revision happens in accordance with the economic fluctuations and in keeping with the changes made in the wages of the employees. The changes are made every two years, between the months of January and July.
The employees can calculate their dearness allowance by multiplying the current DA with the base age.
The Centre had previously announced that its going to increase dearness allowance, house rent allowance (HRA) and travel allowance (TA) for the government employees. This increment was received with huge relief by the employees because a hike had been long overdue.
Following innumerable requests from employees, the Central government may consider increasing the house rent allowance (HRA) of government employees too.
