Central Government Again Hikes Salary Under 7th Pay Commission

The union government has recently hiked the Dearness Allowance (DA) and the Dearness Relief (DR) of the central government employees. They will get a DA hike from 17% to 28% and House Rent Allowance (HRA) hike from 24% to 27%. DA for July is too anticipated to be announced this month with an expected increase of 3% in DA yet again as the demands by employees' unions are increasing. Now the government again declared that the employees might have a salary hike because of the Child Education Allowance (CEA) claim.

Child Education Allowance (CEA)

The central government employees who could not claim CEA due to the pandemic can apply now. As the schools were closed due to the repeated lockdown, the CEA was stalled. But now the schools are opening and the government has decided to reopen the CEA facility for the education of the employees' children again. Previously the CEA was of Rs. 2,250 every month, but the 7th Pay Commission has recommended that the central government employees now can get Rs. 4500 per month for two children after they claim their CEA.

In a notification, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) stated, "The CEA claims may also be considered through a self-certification made from the concerned employees or through a printout of e-mail/SMS of result/report card/fee payment, in addition to the prescribed modes of claims only for the academic years ending March, 2020 and March, 2021." - So, according to two academic calendars, a child has to be paid Rs. 4500.

The department added, "This Department has been receiving several references/ queries from Central Government employees stating that in the prevailing pandemic situation, result/report cards were not sent to the parents by the School through SMS/email, and the fee is also being deposited online, and the parents are having difficulty in claiming CEA." In case the second child is a twin, the allowance will also be given for the twins along with the first child.