Central govt employees and pensioners to get 3 per cent additional DA

The union cabinet on Wednesday approved payment of an additional 3 per cent dearness allowance (DA) to central government employees and dearness relief (DR) to central government pensioners with effect from 7 January 2024.

The increase of three per cent is over the existing rate of 50 per cent of the basic Pay/Pension and is intended to compensate for the rise in prices.

This will benefit about 4.92 million central government employees and 6.49 million pensioners, according to a cabinet release.

The increase is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission and in accordance with the accepted formula. The payment of additional DA and DR will have a combined impact of Rs9,448.35 crore on the exchequer, the release added.

New bridge over Ganga: The cabinet headed by Prime minister Narendra Modi also gave its approval for the construction of Varanasi-Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Rail-cum-Road Bridge across Ganga River, at an estimated cost of Rs2,642 crore. 

The project, when completed, will provide improved connectivity, facilitate ease of travelling, minimise logistics cost and streamline supply network.

The project will provide infrastructural support to one of the busiest sections across Indian Railways while traversing through Varanasi and Chandauli districts in Uttar Pradesh.

The project will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 30 km while helping to provide multi-modal connectivity for seamless movement of people, goods and services.

The project will also generate about a million mandays of direct employment during construction.