Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, several decisions have been taken and good news for govt employees is that Dearness Allowance has been hiked by 5 per cent. The dearness allowance has been increased from 12% to 17%. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the hike in DA will cost the government Rs 16,000 crore annually and that it is a Diwali gift for over 50 lakh central government employees and 62 lakh pensioners. The decision, effective from July 2019, was approved this morning at a cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government said in a statement that the increase was according to the accepted formula based on the recommendations of the 7th central Pay Commission. Dearness Allowance or DA is paid by the government to its employees as well as pensioners to offset the impact of inflation.