NEW DELHI: The central government on Wednesday decided to give a 3 per cent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for 49.2 lakh central government employees and 68.7 lakh pensioners, as the increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.
The decision to hike the rate of DA and DR was taken at the meeting of Union Cabinet, which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, while noting that it would provide desired relief to the employees and pensioners ahead of Dussehra on Thursday and Diwali later this month.
The Minister said the increase in the DA and DR would be effective from July 1 and will cost the government exchequer to the tune of nearly Rs 10,000 crore. This is the second hike this year, as in March a 2 per cent increase was announced, taking DA payouts from 53 per cent of basic pay to 55 per cent. That was after a 3 per cent hike in October last year. The DA and DR are given to employees and pensioners to insulate them from the impact of inflation.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister, also approved opening 57 new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) across the country, aimed at expanding access to quality education.
In another major decision, the CCEA approved hike for rapeseed and mustard at Rs 300 per quintal with the new MSP at Rs 5,950. For lentil (masur), the MSP is Rs 6,700, an increase of Rs 275 per quintal. The MSP of gram stands at Rs 5,650, safflower Rs 5,940 and barley Rs 1,980, with an increase of Rs 210, Rs 140 and Rs 130 per quintal respectively, the Minister said.
The decision is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times of the all-India weighted average cost of production.
"The expected margin over all-India weighted average cost of production is 105 percent for wheat, followed by 98 percent for rapeseed and mustard; 89 percent for lentil; 60 percent for gram; 60 percent for barley; and 50 percent for safflower. This increased MSP of rabi crops will ensure remunerative prices to the farmers and incentivise crop diversification,” the government said in a statement.
Vaishnaw also announced that the Union Cabinet has approved celebrations to mark 150 years of the ‘Vande Mataram’ song, beside a road project in Assam - the widening and upgradation of the Kalibor–Numaligarh section of NH-715 in Assam to a four-lane elevated highway at a total capital cost of Rs 6,957 crore. The project, to be executed on the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode, will cover a total length of 85.675 km and integrate wildlife-friendly measures along the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) stretch.
The government also approved a Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses for 2025-26 to 2030-31, as it would drive production to 350 lakh tonnes by 2030-31. Vaishnaw said, Rs.11,440 crore investment push is going to be given to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses.