Staff Forum Proposes 25% DA Merger, Inflation Linkage for 8th Pay Commission
मुख्य बातें
- •The Staff Side has proposed merging 25% of Dearness Allowance (DA) into basic pay under the 8th Pay Commission.
- •The current DA formula, based on a 2016 base year, is criticised for not reflecting present-day inflation and consumption patterns.
- •The proposal suggests linking DA to an open-market inflation index for real-time cost-of-living adjustments.
- •The 8th Pay Commission, due to submit its report by March 2026, will review the proposal amid demands for fair salary revisions.
The Staff Side of the 8th Pay Commission has put forward a proposal to revise the Dearness Allowance (DA) calculation formula, seeking a 25% merger of DA into basic pay and the adoption of an open-market inflation indexing mechanism. The current DA formula, which relies on the All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW) with a base year of 2016, has been criticised for failing to reflect the real-time cost of living and consumption patterns of central government employees.
According to sources, the Staff Side, representing various central government employee unions, argues that the existing formula lags behind current economic realities, including rising prices of essential commodities, housing, and healthcare. The proposal suggests recalibrating the base year to better capture inflation trends and merging a portion of DA into basic pay to enhance salary structures. This move aims to provide a more accurate cost-of-living adjustment for over 10 million central government employees and pensioners.
