New Delhi, Oct. 28 -- The central government on Wednesday announced a 3-percentage-point increase in dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for central government employees and pensioners, respectively. The decision is set to benefit 48 lakh employees and 68 lakh pensioners.

The hike is expected to take the DA rate from 60% to 63% of basic pay, translating into an additional Rs.540 per month for an employee with a basic pay of Rs.18,000 and Rs.1,500 per month for someone drawing Rs.50,000.

As DA is calculated as a percentage of basic pay rather than total monthly income, those with higher basic pay will receive a larger monthly increase.

The revised rate will provide additional financial support to central government employee...