HRA hike, Gratuity hike, CEA hike, TA hike effect expected from 1st Jan’24 for Central Govt. and PSU employees

As per 7th CPC, there is a condition that HRA for Central Govt. employees and CPSE or PSU employees will be revised if DA crosses 50%. Likewise, CEA will be increased by 25% if DA crosses 50% for 7th cpc Central Govt. employees and CPSE or PSU employees. The Gratuity will be hiked from 20 lakh to 25 lakh. Check the details below.

The certain probability of HRA hike, CEA hike, TA hike will take place from 1st January 2024. From 1st Jan 2024, as the DA for Central Govt. employees and CPSE or PSU employees have reached 50%.

1. Check the current DA for Central Govt. employees here.
2. Check the current DA for PSU employees here.

Major Contents in the Post: (Jump to the Section)

1. HRA hike for 7th CPC central government employees and Armed Forces
2. HRA hike for 3rd PRC CPSE or PSU employees
3. Children Education Allowance (CEA) hike for 7th CPC central government employees
4. TA hike for 7th CPC central government employees
5. HRA classification based on cities of India

HRA will be hiked for 7th pay commission Central Govt. employees and Armed Forces personnel, when DA crosses 50%:

At present, the Dearness Allowance is 50%. As per 7th CPC, there is a condition that HRA will be revised if DA crosses 50%. So, accordingly the HRA will be increased to 30% / 20% / 10% from presently 27% / 18% /9 %, based on the population of city.

This new HRA will be applied in addition to the revised DA. So, where DA have increased to 50%, HRA will also be increased to 30%, for metro cities (point no. 3 of order – attached below).

Official Order of Implementation of 7th CPC for grant of House Rent Allowance (HRA) to Central Govt. employees :(Source:doe.gov.in)

The department of Expenditure (DoE) under ministry of Finance has issued the HRA order dated 7th July 2017, for 7th CPC Central Govt. employees.

Official Order of Implementation of 7th CPC for grant of House Rent Allowance (HRA) to Armed Forces Personnel :

The department of Defence (DoD) of Govt. of India has issued the HRA order dated 11th October 2017, for 7th CPC Armed Forces Personnel.

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HRA will be hiked for 3rd PRC CPSE or PSU employees, when DA crosses 50%:

At present, the Dearness Allowance is below 50%. As per 3rd PRC, there is a condition that HRA will be revised if DA crosses 50%. So, accordingly the HRA will be increased to 30% / 20% / 10% from presently 27% / 18% /9 %, based on the population of city.

This new HRA will be applied in addition to the revised DA. So, where DA will be increased to 50%, HRA will also be increased to 30%, for metro cities (point no. 1 (ii) of order – attached below).

Official Order of Implementation of 3rd PRC for grant of House Rent Allowance (HRA) to CPSE or PSU employees : (Source:doe.gov.in)

The department of Public Enterprises (DPE) under Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has issued the HRA order dated 4th August 2017, for 3rd PRC CPSE or PSU employees.

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What is HRA, House Rent Allowance (HRA) for employees?

Many employees who work in Central Govt. job, State Govt. job, Public sector units (PSUs) or a private company, they have two options of having residence. Either they will reside in their own home / on-rent or they will reside in the Govt.’s provided or Company’s provided house.

So, if one resides in the Govt.’s provided or Company’s provided house, they will not get any house rent allowance (HRA) in the salary. But, for those employees, who reside in their own home or on rent, they will be given house rent allowance (HRA) in the salary.

HRA, House Rent Allowance (HRA) for 6th CPC Central Govt. employees & Armed forces personnel and for 2nd PRC PSUs or CPSEs employees:

In the 6th CPC and 2nd PRC, the HRA slabs were divided among 3 categories based on the population of city.

1. HRA for 6th CPC and 2nd PRC employees was paid @ 30%, for city X (population of 50 lakh & above),
2. HRA for 6th CPC and 2nd PRC employees was paid @ 20%, for city Y (population of 5 to 50 lakh),
3. HRA for 6th CPC and 2nd PRC employees was paid @ 10%, for city Z (population of below 5 lakh)

HRA, House Rent Allowance for 7th CPC Central Govt. employees & Armed forces personnel and for 3rd PRC PSUs or CPSEs employees, when DA is below 25%:

In the 7th CPC and 3rd PRC, the HRA slabs were also divided among 3 categories based on the population of city, but with reduced rate of HRA.

1. HRA for 7th CPC and 3rd PRC employees is paid @ 24 %, for city X (population of 50 lakh & above),
2. HRA for 7th CPC and 3rd PRC employees is paid @ 16 %, for city Y (population of 5 to 50 lakh),
3. HRA for 7th CPC and 3rd PRC employees is paid @ 8 %, for city Z (population of below 5 lakh)

But, keeping in view the current inflation trends, the Government had decided that these rates will be revised upwards when DA crosses 25% and 50% respectively.

HRA, House Rent Allowance for 7th CPC Central Govt. employees & Armed forces personnel and for 3rd PRC PSUs or CPSEs employees, when DA crosses 25%:

In the 7th CPC and 3rd PRC implementation, the HRA slabs were divided among 3 categories based on the population of city. It was decided that due to inflation, the rate of HRA will be revised when the Dearness Allowance (DA) will cross 25%.

1. HRA for 7th CPC and 3rd PRC employees will be paid @ 27 %, for city X (population of 50 lakh & above), if DA crosses 25%.
2. HRA for 7th CPC and 3rd PRC employees will be paid @ 18 %, for city Y (population of 5 to 50 lakh), if DA crosses 25%.
3. HRA for 7th CPC and 3rd PRC employees will be paid @ 9 %, for city Z (population of below 5 lakh), if DA crosses 25%.

HRA, House Rent Allowance (HRA) for 7th CPC Central Govt. employees & Armed forces personnel and for 3rd PRC PSUs or CPSEs employees, when DA crosses 50%:

In the 7th CPC and 3rd PRC implementation, the HRA slabs were divided among 3 categories based on the population of city. It was decided that due to inflation, the rate of HRA will be revised when the Dearness Allowance (DA) will cross 50%.

1. HRA for 7th CPC and 3rd PRC employees will be paid @30%, for city X (population of 50 lakh & above), if DA crosses 50%.
2. HRA for 7th CPC and 3rd PRC employees will be paid @ 20 %, for city Y (population of 5 to 50 lakh), if DA crosses 50%.
3. HRA for 7th CPC and 3rd PRC employees will be paid @ 10 %, for city Z (population of below 5 lakh), if DA crosses 50%.

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Highlights of HRA for 7th CPC Central Govt. employees, Armed forces and PSUs or CPSEs:

1. The rates of HRA will not be less than Rs. 5400/-, 3600/- & 1800/- at X, Y & Z class cities respectively.
2. The rates of HRA will be revised to 27%, 18% and 9% for X, Y & Z class cities respectively when Dearness Allowance (DA) crosses 25 percent and further revised to 30%,20% and 10% when DA crosses 50%.
3. The term “basic pay” in the revised pay structure means the pay drawn in the prescribed pay levels in the Pay Matrix and does not include Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA), Military Service Pay (MSP) etc. or any other type of pay like special pay etc.
4. Special orders on continuance of HRA at Delhi (X’ class city) rates to Central Government employees posted at Faridabad, Ghaziabad, NOIDA and Gurgaon, at Jalandhar (‘ Y’ class city) rates to Jalandhar Cantt. at “Y” class city rates to Shillong, Goa & Port Blair and HRA at par with Chandigarh (‘Y’ class city) to Panchkula. S.A.S. Nagar(Mohali) which have been allowed to continue vide Para ‘4’ of MoF O.M. No. 2/5/2014-D.II(B) dated 21.07.2015 and O.M. No. 2/2/2016-E.II (B) dated 03.02.2017, shall continue till further orders.

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Classification of cities for grant of HRA, House Rent Allowance for 7th CPC Central Govt. employees, Armed forces and PSUs or CPSEs:

The below table tells you the classification of cities across all the states of India. In the table, there are only two classifications X and Y, for the purpose of HRA. The remaining cities / towns in various States / UTs which are not covered by classification as “X” or “Y”, are classified as “Z” for the purpose of HRA.

UA – Urban Agglomeration, M.Corpn. – Municipal Corporation

Serial Number	STATES OR UNION TERRITORIES for applicable HRA	CITIES CLASSIFIED AS “X” for HRA (population of 50 lakh & above)	CITIES CLASSIFIED AS “Y” (population of 5 to 50 lakh) for HRA
1.	ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS	—	—
2.	ANDHRA PRADESH / TELANGANA	Hyderabad (UA)	Vijayawada (UA), Warangal (UA), Greater Visakhapatnarn (M.Corpn.), Guntur (UA), Ne/lore (UA)
3.	ARUNACHAL PRADESH	—	—
4.	ASSAM	—	Guwahati (UA)
5.	BIHAR	—	Patna (UA)
6.	CHANDIGARH	—	Chandigarh (UA)
7.	CHHATTISGARH	—	Durg-Bhilai Nagar (UA), Raipur (UA)
8.	DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI	—	—
9.	DAMAN & DIU	—	—
10.	DELHI	Delhi (UA)
11.	GOA	—	—
12.	GUJARAT	Ahmadabad (UA)	Rajkot (UA), Jamnagar (UA), Bhavnagar (UA), Vadodara (UA), Surat (UA)
13.	HARYANA	—	Faridabad*(M. Corpn.), Gurgaon*(UA)
14.	HIMACHAL PRADESH	—	—
15.	JAMMU & KASHMIR	—	Srinagar (UA), Jammu (UA)
16.	JHARKHAND	—	Jamshedpur (UA), Dhanbad (UA), Ranchi (UA), Bokaro Steel City (UA)
17.	KARNATAKA	Bengalore / Bengaluru (UA)	Belgaum (UA), Hubli-Dharwad (M.Corpn.), Mangalore (UA), Mysore (UA), Gulbarga (UA)
18.	KERALA.	—	Kozhikode (UA), Kochi (UA), Thiruvanathapurarn (UA), Thrissur (UA), Malappuram (UA), Kannur (UA), Kolam (UA)
19.	LAKSHADWEEP	—	—
20.	MADHYA PRADESH	—	Gwalior (UA), Indore (UA), Bhopal (UA), Jabalpur (UA), Ujjain (M. Corpn.)
21.	MAHARASHTRA	Greater Mumbai (UA), Pune (UA)	Amravati (M.Corpn.), Nagpur (UA), Aurangabad (UA), Nashik (UA), Bhiwandi (UA), Solapur (M.Corpn.), Kolhapur (UA), Vasai-Virar City (M. Corpn.), Malegaon (UA), Nanded-Waghala (M. Corpn.), Sanali (UA)
22.	MANIPUR	—	—
23.	MEGHALAYA	—	—
24.	MIZORAM	—	—
25.	NAGALAND	—	—
26.	ODISHA	—	Guttack (UA), Bhubaneswar (UA), Raurkela (UA)
27.	PUDUCHERRY	—	Puducherry/Pondicherry (UA)
28.	PUNJAB	—	Amritsar (UA), Jalandhar (UA), Ludhiana (M. Coprn.)
29.	RAJASTHAN	—	Bikaner (M.Corpn.),  Jaipur (M.Corpn.),  Jodhpur (UA), Kata CM.Coron.), Ajmer (UA)
30.	SIKKIM	—	—
31.	TAMIL NADU	Chennai (UA)	Salem (UA), Tiruppur (UA), Coimbatore (UA), Tiruchirappalli (UA), Madurai (UA), Erode (UA)
32.	TRIPURA	—	—
33.	UTTAR PRADESH	—	Moradabad (M.Corpn.), Meerut (UA), Ghaziabad*(UA), Aligarh(UA), Agra (UA), Bareilly (UA), Lucknow (UA), Kanpur (UA), Allahabad (UA), Gorakhpur (UA), Varanasi (UA), Saharanpur (M.Corpn.), Noida* (CT), Firozabad (NPP), Jhansi (UA)
34.	UTTARAKHAND	—	Dehradun (UA)
35.	WEST BENGAL	Kolkata (UA)	Asansol (UA), Siliguri (UA), Durgapur (UA)

Children Education Allowance (CEA) Rules as per 7th central pay commission (source:DoPT):

No.A-27012/01/2023-Pers.Policy(Allowance)

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension Department of Personnel & Training

Block-IV, Old JNU Campus New Delhi, 25^th April, 2024.

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Clarification on increase in certain allowances by 25% after enhancement of Dearness Allowances w.e.f. 01.01.2024.

The undersigned is directed to refer to para 2(e) of this Department’s O.M. No.A- 27012/02/2017-Estt (AL) dated 17.07.2018. This provides that the limits of Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy would be automatically raised by 25% every time the Dearness Allowance on the revised pay structure goes up by 50%. References are being received from various quarters with regard to the amount of Children Education Allowance (CEA) and Hostel Subsidy admissible consequent upon enhancement of Dearness Allowance payable to Central Government employees @ 50% w.e.f. 1s1January, 2024 announced vide Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure O.M. No.1/1/2024-E-II (B) dated 12^th March, 2024.

• Subject to other conditions mentioned in this Department’s O.M. No. A- 27012/02/2017-Estt.(AL) dated 17-07-2018, the following shall be the revised limits for CEA and Hostel Subsidy:
  • The amount for reimbursement of Children Education Allowance shall be ₹2812.5/- per month (fixed)and Hostel Subsidy shall be ₹8437.5/- per month (fixed) irrespective of actual expenses incurred by the Government employee;
  • The reimbursement of Children Education Allowance for Divyang children of Govt. employees shall be payable at double the normal rates i.e. ₹5625/-per month(fixed),irrespective of actual expenses incurred by the Government employee;
• The rates of Special Allowance for Child Care to women with disabilities stands revised to ₹3750/-per month subject to other conditions mentioned in this Department’s O.M. No. A-27012/03/2017-Estt.(AL) dated 16.08.2017.
• These revisions are applicable with effect from 1^st January 2024.

Children Education Allowance (CEA) Rules when DA is below 50%:

Children Education Allowance (CEA) Rules when DA is above 50%:

The pdf file of DoPT rules regarding Children Education Allowance (CEA):

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Travelling Allowance (TA) Rules as per 7th central pay commission:

The department of Expenditure (DoE) under ministry of Finance has issued the Travelling Allowance (TA) order dated 13th July 2017, for 7th CPC Central Govt. employees.

According to the rule, the rate of Travelling Allowance (TA) will be increased by 25%, when DA will cross 50% as per this 7th central pay commission. So, to get a hike in TA, DA needs to reach 50%, which has not happened yet.

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DA, DR hike of all states and UTs of India	DA hike of Central Govt. Employees of 7th cpc, 6th cpc, 5th cpc
DA, DR hike of Indian Army, Navy and Air Force	DR hike of Central Govt. Pensioners and Family Pensioners
DA hike of Bank Employees	DR hike of Bank Pensioners or Bank Retirees of all types
IDA hike for CPSE or PSU employees of 3rd prc, 2nd prc, 1997 pay scale	AICPI-IW of current month – To calculate DA, DR

Disclaimer: Kindly consult official website for any clarification.