Central government employees and pensioners to get 6 per cent DA hike

Central government employees and pensioners will get a mid-year bonanza with the union cabinet set to approve a 6 per cent hike in dearness allowance today to compensate for rising prices.

The move, which comes just ahead of the elections to five state assemblies would benefit over 50 lakh employees in addition to 38 lakh pensioners. The new DA, which would come into effect from 1 January, would increase DA benefits from the present 45 per cent to 51 per cent of the basic pay.

The relief comes as retail prices are ruling high on over 9 per cent inflation.

The union cabinet has been convened for today for approval of a number of amendment bills including the Intellectual Property Rights Amendment Bill, the National Institute of Technology Bill and the National Electronic Database for Academy Awards Bill that are to be introduced during the ongoing budget session of the parliament.

If the DA move gets approval, the dearness allowance, which is linked to the consumer price index, would increase from the current 45 per cent to 51 per cent, triggering a further change in the allowance structure.

Accordingly, payments like conveyance allowance and children's education allowance would also increase by 25 per cent.