Cabinet hikes dearness allowance for central govt employees by 3%

The central government has hiked the dearness allowance for its employees by 3 per cent, PTI reported on Wednesday citing a cabinet decision.

The central government on Wednesday hiked the dearness allowance (DA) for its employees by 3 per cent, PTI reported on Wednesday citing a cabinet decision 

Dearness Relief for pensioners has been increased by 3 per cent, the news agency said. The decision will benefit more than 1.16 crore central government employees and pensioners.

The additional instalment will be effective from January 1, 2022, said an official release after the Cabinet meeting. "This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission," it said.

The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief will be Rs 9,544.50 crore per annum. This will benefit about 47.68 lakh central government employees and 68.62 lakh pensioners, the release said.

The revision in dearness allowance was stalled for over more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. DA was last hiked in October 2021: from 28 percent to 31 percent.

The new hike goes up to 34 per cent.