AHEAD OF Diwali and the festive season, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday hiked the dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief by 4 per cent effective July 1, 2022, benefiting 41.85 lakh central government employees and 69.76 lakh pensioners.
The increase of 4 per cent is over the existing rate of 34 per cent of basic pay/pension.
The total extra outgo on the exchequer on account of both DA and DR would be Rs 12,852.5 crore per annum, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said while briefing the media about the decisions of the Union Cabinet.
Central government employees and pensioners will be entitled to higher amount of DA and DR, respectively, with effect from July 1, 2022, he said.
“These three months are full of festivals across India. Today’s decisions by the Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister are also such that would bring in cheer in the festive season,” Thakur said.
The increase in the DA and DR is based on the percentage increase in 12 monthly average of All India Consumer Price Index for the period ending June 2022.
The impact of enhanced dearness allowance to the employees on the exchequer is estimated at Rs 6,591.36 crore per annum and Rs 4,394.24 crore in 2022-23 (8 months from July 2022 to February 2023).
In case of dearness relief, the impact would be Rs 6,261.20 crore per annum and Rs 4,174.12 crore in the current fiscal.
