New Delhi: The Centre has announced revisions to the children's education allowance and hostel subsidy for government employees as part of the increased dearness allowance (DA) for employees and pensioners.
Following the earlier announcement of a 4% hike in DA, raising it to 50% of the basic pay from the previous 46%, certain allowances such as children's education allowance (CEA) and hostel subsidy have automatically been adjusted by up to 25%.
These revisions, effective from January 1, 2024, are by a directive issued in 2018, mandating a 25% automatic increase in CEA and hostel subsidy limits whenever the DA on the revised pay structure rises by 50%. The Department of Personnel & Training has confirmed that these limits will be automatically raised by 25% each time the DA on the revised pay structure increases by 50%.
As per the Ministry of Personnel, the revised reimbursement rates for children’s education allowance and hostel subsidy have been officially established. The education allowance is now set at Rs 2,812.5 per child per month, while the hostel subsidy stands at Rs 8,437.5 per child per month. These fixed amounts will be disbursed regardless of the actual expenses incurred by government employees.
Moreover, differently-abled children of government employees are entitled to twice the standard education allowance rate, amounting to Rs 5,625 monthly, irrespective of actual costs. The special childcare allowance for women with disabilities has been increased to Rs 3,750 per month. This adjustment aims to ease the financial burdens faced by these women employees handling childcare duties.
Other allowances including Risk Allowance, Night Duty Allowance (NDA), Over Time Allowance (OTA), Special Allowance Payable to Parliament Assistants, and Special Allowance for Child Care for Women with Disabilities have also been revised.
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