With increasing costs of living, the news of a rising wage is something central government pensioners and employees can be happy to celebrate this June. The ultimate settlement of salaries under the 7 th Pay commission structure is what is due in July 2025, however, the announcement is likely to come at Diwali. The move is also a good news to more than 47 lakh workers and 68 lakh pensioners most of whom have been struggling with increased household cost.
Dearness Allowance Set for Final Push
Previously, the government supplemented the Dearness Allowance (DA) by 2 per cent in January 2025 to get it to 55%. This is likely to go up even further and depending on the current trends in the All India Consumer Price Index of Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW) the DA may actually go up to close to 58 per cent. This would be the last revision of DA under the 7 th Pay Commission which would end by the close of 2025.
DA Arrears Still in Focus
Even though the next hike is desirable, the employee unions are still demanding to pay the pending DA arrears that were frozen during the COVID-19 period between January 2020 and June 2021. Such payments, when paid, would bring a lot of improvement in take-home to many. No formal announcement has been made but it is said that discussions were taking place internally.
Fitment Factor Revision on the Horizon
The another point of interest is that the fitment factor might be reviewed which is standing at 2.57. The employee organizations are demanding the raise to 3.0 which may cause considerable increase in the basic pay. With such a change, not only would effected employees benefit, but the utility of pension calculations will gain effect as well.
Pensioners Await Parallel Benefits
Pensioners who will be directly affected by the scale of the employee pay also keep track of the development. The subsequent rise in DA or basic pay will automatically realize in pension payments. Speculations are also arising of improved family pension standards that are under consideration of lower-income retirees.
Looking Ahead to the 8th Pay Commission
With the 7th Pay Commission coming to a close, expectations seem to arise concerning the 8 th Pay Commission which is scheduled to affect January 2026. But the delays in its formation have been cause of concerns. The reality is that the June 2025 salary increase is a breath of fresh air, at least until now until people look into the distant future.
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