The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, made two key announcements on Thursday.
LPG Subsidy Extended
The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) subsidy, which provides financial assistance for cooking gas to low-income families, has been extended until March 2025. This means beneficiaries will continue to receive a subsidy of Rs 300 per 14.2-kg LPG cylinder for another year. This announcement follows a previous increase in October 2023, raising the subsidy from Rs 200 to Rs 300 per cylinder.
Dearness Allowance Hike for Central Employees and Pensioners
The Cabinet also approved an additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) for Central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners, effective January 2024. This translates to a 4% increase over the existing rate of 46% of the Basic Pay/Pension, aiming to compensate for rising prices.
The combined annual cost of this DA and DR hike to the government is estimated at Rs 12,868.72 crore. This increase will benefit approximately 49.18 lakh central government employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners. It follows the established formula based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.
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