Centre clears 3 per cent Dearness Allowance hike for central govt employees

In a festive boost, the Union Cabinet on Thursday okayed a 3 per cent increase in the Dearness Allowance of Central Government employees and pensioners.

This hike comes with effect from July 1, 2021. The Centre in July had restored DA benefits for its employees and pensioners and had increased the DA from 17 per cent to 28 per cent. Nearly 48 lakh Central government employees and 68 lakh pensioners are expected to gain from this move.

Last year, the Covid-19 pandemic caused a shortfall in the revenue due to which the DA and DR had to be halted. The Union Government had frozen the three additional instalments of the DA and DR, which were due from January 1, 2020, July 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021.