Additional Installment of Dearness Allowance 2020 to Government Employees Frozen, No Arrears to be Paid

Due to the situation arising out of the Coronavirus outbreak in India, the government has decided to freeze additional installment of Dearness Allowance 2020 to its employees and Dearness Relief to pensioners at current rates till July 2021. A notification regarding the same was issued by the Ministry of Finance today.

“It has been decided that the additional installment of Dearness Allowance to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief to Central Government pensioners, due from 1st January 2020 shall not be paid. The additional installments of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief due from 1st July 2020 and 1st January 2021 shall also not be paid. However Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief at current rates shall continue to be paid,” said the circular from the Ministry of Finance.

The circular added that as and when the decision to release future installments of Dearness Allowance 2020 and Dearness Relief due from 1st July 2021 is taken by the government, the rates of DA and DR as effective from 1st January 2020, 1st July 2020 and 1st January 2021 will be restored prospectively. Furthermore, no arrears for the 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2021 period will be paid, says the notification.

The Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief is a calculation on inflation and allowance paid to central government employees, public sector employees, and pensioners in India. Dearness Allowance is calculated as a percentage of an Indian citizen's basic salary to mitigate the impact of inflation on people.