Diwali Gift: 3% DA hike for Central staff

New Delhi: Union Cabinet led by PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved a 3 per cent increase in dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for Central government employees and pensioners.

The latest hike raises the DA or DR from 50 per cent to 53 per cent. The increase will come into effect from 1 July. This decision is a major relief for Central government employees ahead of Diwali. The biannual revision of DA and DR, which impacts approximately one crore Central government employees and pensioners, aims to mitigate the effects of inflation. DA is given to the Central government employees which is calculated based on the average of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), which is published monthly by the Labour Bureau.