Centre hikes Dearness Allowance for employees by 7 per cent

The decision to increase the Dearness Allowance (DA) for five million Central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for about four million pensioners was taken by the Union Cabinet.

The pay hike would be applicable from July 1. The DA for the government employees would increase from 51 per cent of the basic salary to 58 per cent.

The hike in DA and DR would cost the exchequer annually Rs 7,229 crore, while for the remaining period of the current fiscal the implication would be Rs 4,819 crore,Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters.