Cabinet approves opening of 57 new KVs

* 150 yrs of Vande Mataram song to be celebrated

NEW DELHI, Oct 1:

In a Diwali bonanza to Central Government employees and pensioners, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to increase Dearness Allowance (DA)/ Dearness Relief (DR) by 3 per cent envisaging an annual outlay of Rs 10,083.96 crore.

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The hike in DA and DR comes days after rationalisation of GST rates, bringing down prices of mass consumption items like ghee, paneer, butter, ‘namkeen’, ketchup, jam, dry fruits, coffee and ice creams, and aspirational goods like TV, AC, washing machines will become cheaper.

The DA/DR increase of 3 per cent over the existing rate of 55 per cent of the basic pay/pension to compensate against the price rise i

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