The Modi government on Thursday hiked the dearness allowance (DA) to 50 per cent of basic pay from the existing rate of 46 per cent effective from January 1. Pensioners will also get the higher dearness relief.

The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both DA and dearness relief would be Rs 12,869 crore per annum.

Benefits under gratuity have been increased by 25 per cent with an increase in ceiling of Rs 25 lakh from the existing Rs 20 lakh.

The decision is likely to benefit 49.18 lakh central government employees besides 67.95 lakh pensioners.

Gas subsidy

The government has announced the extension of Rs 300-per-LPG cylinder subsidy to poor women under the Ujjwala Yojana scheme for the next fiscal starting April 1.

The government had in October last year hiked the subsidy from Rs 200 per 14.2-kg cylinders for up to 12 refills per year to Rs 300 per bottle. The Rs 300-per-cylinder subsidy was for the current fiscal, which ends on March 31.

Jute MSP

The government raised MSP for raw jute by Rs 285 to Rs 5,335 per quintal for the 2024-25 season. This will benefit farmers in eastern states, especially Bengal. The MSP for 2024-25 will ensure a return of 64.8 per cent over the all-India weighted average cost of production.