Diwali gift for govt employees and pensioners: Cabinet hikes DA by 5%

In a Diwali bonanza, the government on Wednesday took steps to provide more money in the hands of its employees and farmers by hiking dearness allowance (DA) by five percentage points and relaxing norms on Aadhaar seeding for the Prime Minister’s flagship scheme for farmers till November 30. 

The Cabinet increased DA from 12 per cent to 17 per cent of basic pay and pension for its five million employees and 6.5 million pensioners. 
 

The hike, to be effective from July 1, 2019, would hit the exchequer by an additional Rs 15,909.35 crore annually and Rs 10,606.20 crore in the