Dearness Allowance hiked by 2 per cent for central government employees, pensioners

The Cabinet on Thursday approved the 2 per cent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for Central Government employees and pensioners, effective from July 1, 2016. The proposal to hike the DA was granted during the Cabinet meeting today afternoon at the Prime Minister’s Office. The announcement, which comes ahead of Diwali, is set to bring cheer to around 50 lakh central government employees and 58 lakh pensioners in the country.

Dearness allowance is provided to employees and pensioners to minimise the impact of price rise on their earnings. Earlier this year, the government hiked dearness allowance by 6% to 125 % of the basic pay. It was later merged into the basic pay, based on the recommendation of the 7th Pay Commission Panel.