Dearness Allowance hiked: Raise would cost the exchequer nearly Rs 16,000 crore. The DA has now been increased from 12 per cent to 17 per cent.
DA hiked by 5%: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar was addressing the press following a Cabinet meeting in New Delhi. (Express Photo/File)
Dearness Allowance hiked by 5%:

The Union government Wednesday hiked the Dearness Allowance (DA) for central government employees by five per cent from the existing 12 per cent. The announcement, made by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar following a Cabinet meeting, is expected to benefit 50 lakh central government employees and 65 lakh pensioners.

Raise would cost the exchequer nearly Rs 16,000 crore. The DA has now been increasead to 17 per cent. “This is the highest ever 5 percentage points increase in DA in one go by the central government,” Javadekar said.