The Union Cabinet on Wednesday increased the dearness allowance and dearness relief by 4 percentage points to 46 per cent to benefit 48.67 lakh central government employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners.

The release of the additional instalment of dearness allowance and dearness relief will be applicable from July 01, 2023, Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters after the meeting of the Union Cabinet.

This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.

The release of the additional instalment of dearness allowance and dearness relief will be applicable from July 1, 2023, the Information & Broadcasting Minister said in the press briefing after the Union Cabinet meeting.

This increase follows the formula recommended by the 7th Central Pay Commission.

The cumulative financial impact resulting from both DR and DA is estimated at Rs. 12,857 crore annually. This will benefit approximately 48.67 lakh Central Government employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners.

Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat was also increased by ₹150/quintal to ₹2,275/quintal for 2023-24.

The government has already sanctioned Diwali bonuses for Group C and non-gazetted Group B level officials, which includes paramilitary forces.

For the fiscal year 2022-2023, the finance ministry has established a cap of ₹7,000 for computing non-productivity linked bonuses (ad hoc bonuses) for central government employees.