In their memos to the 8 th Pay Commission, groups representing central government employees and pensioners have strongly highlighted the need to raise the annual increment cap. They have recommended increasing the increment rate from its current rate of 3% to up to 7%.
Their key argument is that a 3% annual increment barely meets rising expenses, specially for employees at low levels. They also say that not only is a higher increment rate necessary, but the 8 th Pay Commission should also merge dearness allowance (DA) with basic pay when DA reaches 25%.
