Employees and retirees of the federal government have every reason to celebrate this holiday season. As of July 1, 2022, the Center has already increased the dearness allowance/dearness relief (DA/DR) by 4%, bringing it to 38%.
Over 41.85 lakh government employees and 69.76 lakh pensioners have benefited from the decision to raise DA/DR. (DA is for employees of the central government, whereas DR is for retirees.)
Additionally, for the fiscal year 2021–2022, the government has authorised the payment of productivity-linked bonuses (PLBs) to railroad employees (FY22).
The PLB, often known as the Diwali bonus, is typically given out each year prior to Dussehra. About 11.27 lakh non-gazetted railroad workers have received the bonus this year, which is equal to 78 days of pay.
An eligible railway employee may receive up to Rs 17,951 for a period of 78 days.
The bonus is given to a number of different categories of employees, including track maintainers, drivers and guards, station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, controllers, pointsmen, ministerial staff, and other group “C” staff. These employees are not RPF/RPSF personnel and are not non-gazetted.
The bonus’s financial impact has been estimated at Rs 1,832.09 crore.
The PLB, according to the government, encourages workers to contribute to the development of the railway system.