New Delhi, July 21 -- Pensioners in India include retired government employees eligible for individual or family pension from the government. In continuance from their salaries, pensioners receive a dedicated percentage of their pension to mitigate inflation. However, this component, known as Dearness Allowance (DA) in salary, is called Dearness Relief (DR) in pension.

DR is often paid to retired central and state government employees, railways and defence personnel, public sector staff, and bank employees across the country. The beneficiaries include close to 65 lakh pensioners across various pay scales.

Notably, in India, DA and DR are provided only by the public sector for its employees and retirees. The private sector does not offer...