New Delhi:
Minister of State for Prime Minister Office, Jitendra Singh clarified that central government is not reducing the age of government employees. While talking to ANI, Jitendra Singh said,
"There has been no such move at all at any level in government, nor was it ever contemplated. It has been reiterated time and again. I don't know how this motivated; mischief comes up again and again. There is no move to reduce the retirement age of govt employees."
Earlier, the Union Finance Ministry decided to not roll out any increment in the dearness allowance (DA) for its 1.13 crore government employees and pensioners' at current levels in view of the coronavirus crisis which has put the economy under stress. The hold on DA hike will remain till July 2021.
As per the order, additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) payable to central govt employees & Dearness Relief (DR) to central govt pensioners, due from January 1, 2020 will not be paid. The government had approved 400 bps hike In dearness allowance from January 1.
In a memo, the finance ministry stated, "In view of the crisis arising out of Covid-19, it has been decided that the additional installment of dearness allowance (DA) payable to central government employees and dearness relief (DR) to central government pensioners, due from 1st January, 2020 shall not be paid. Additional installments of DA & DR from 1 July 2020 & 1 Jan 2021 shall also not be paid," the Ministry of Finance said in a memo.However, central government employees and pensioners will continue to get their DA and DR at current rates i.e. 17 per cent.
The ministry clarified that when the government will take the decision to release the future installment of DA and DR due from July 2021, the rates will be restored prospectively and will be subsumed in the cumulative revised rate effective 1st July 2021.It is important to note that the government will not pay any arrears for the period between January 2020 and 30th June 2021.
However, the Union Cabinet in March had increased the DA and DR by 4 per cent, from 17 per cent of basic pay/pension to 21 per cent of basic pay/pension for central government employees and pensioners.
The DA and DR hike would have cost the exchequer Rs 37,530 crore in the current financial year and 2021-22, according to a report in Livemint .
The finance ministry had recently clarified that it is not making any cuts in central government pensions as salaries and pensions will not be affected by government cash management instructions.
Jogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday decided to suspend six types of allowances including DA (Dearness Allowance) being provided to the UP government employees and pensioners. These allowances will now remain suspended for a period between January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. The decision, which seems to have been taken in order to cut the government's expenditure, has come after the Chief Minister held a meeting with COVID-19 management Team-11 of the state.