Cabinet hikes dearness allowance by 8% for central government employees

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to hike the dearness allowance (DA) by 8 per cent to 80 per cent of the basic pay for all central government employees.

The move, will benefit about 50 lakh serving employees and 30 lakh pensioners.

The government had raised the DA by 7 per cent in September last year to 72 per cent of the basic pay, effective July 1, 2012.

The government periodically hikes the DA which is linked to the consumer price index (CPI) for industrial workers.