Centre raises DA by 3%, to benefit 11 mn employees
NEWDELHI: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved an additional 3% dearness allowance (DA) to about 11 million government employees and pensioners.
The approval has been given to the release of an additional instalment of DA to central government employees, and dearness relief (DR) to pensioners from January 1, 2019, an official statement said. The 3% increase is over the existing rate of 9% of the basic pay or pension, to compensate for price rise. DA is paid to offset the impact of inflation on government employees and pensioners. The decision will benefit about 48.41 lakh central government employees and 62.03 lakh pensioners, finance minister Arun Jaitley said after the cabinet meeting. The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both DA and DR will be ₹9,168.12 crore per annum and ₹10,696.14 crore in the FY 2019-20 (for a period of 14 months from January 2019 to February, 2020), the statement said. “This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission,” it added. Dr Pronab Sen, economist and former chief statistician of India, said: “This is a standard thing that happens twice a year”.
The government reviews the allowance in July and January. “It is as per the 7th Pay Commission. Employees and pensioners know that it is coming. It is something routine,” said Sonu Iyer, partner & national leader, people advisory services, EY India. KOLKATA: In a shuffle of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers ahead of the 2019 general elections, the West Bengal government Tuesday replaced Rajeev Kumar as Kolkata police commissioner, appointing Anuj Sharma in his place.
The 53-year-old Kumar, who was recently in the centre of a controversy after chief minister Mamata Banerjee sat on dharna to protest his questioning by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the Saradha scam, is a 1989-batch IPS officer. Kumar, who has completed three years as Kolkata’s top cop, was appointed additional director-general and inspector-general of police, criminal investigation department, a state government notification said. The transfer is in line with Election Commission guidelines that Indian Administrative Service and IPS officers who have completed three years in one post should be transferred before an election.
Kumar formally took over as Kolkata police commissioner on May 21, 2016, which means that by May 31, 2019, the cut-off date for constitution of the new Lok Sabha, he would have crossed the EC’S three-year deadline.
Anuj Sharma, who was additional director-general (law and order), has “assumed his new responsibilities” as Kolkata police commissioner. Sharma’s appointment was criticised by leaders of opposition parties. “Anuj Sharma, too, is extremely close to the CM. We will bring this to the notice of the EC and push for his removal,” said Dilip Ghosh, president of BJP Bengal unit.
Congress MLA Abdul Mannan said, “We will be happy if the poll panel removes Anuj Sharma. However, we won’t proactively move the EC.”
Mohammed Salim, CPI(M) MP, alleged that the IPS shuffle does not make any difference since “the new chief is as much a yes-man as his predecessor.”