For employees and pensioners drawing pay under the pre-revised basic pay structure, the DA and DR have been increased from 257% to 262%. For those drawing pay under the revised basic pay structure, the rates have been raised from 58% to 60%, the circular said.
The revised DA rates will also apply to contractual employees and personnel of work-charged establishments who are drawing revised pay in the regular scales of the state government.
The change also covers All India Service (AIS) officers serving in Sikkim. For AIS officers continuing under the pre-revised pay band and grade pay structure based on the Sixth Central Pay Commission, DA has been raised from 257% to 262%. For those drawing pay under the revised basic pay structure based on the Seventh Central Pay Commission, the DA has been increased from 58% to 60%.
What is DA and DR?
Dearness Allowance is an additional component of salary paid to government employees to help offset the impact of inflation on their purchasing power. Dearness Relief serves a similar purpose for pensioners.
The allowance is calculated as a percentage of the basic pay or pension, depending on the applicable pay structure. Therefore, a higher DA or DR rate can increase the monthly salary or pension.
Since the revised rates are effective from January 1, eligible employees and pensioners would be entitled to the benefit from that date, with the applicable arrears determined accordingly.The circular also said that amounts involving a fraction of 50 paise or more would be rounded off to the next higher rupee, while fractions below 50 paise would be ignored.
The Sikkim government has around 50,000 employees and pensioners, according to PTI.