Kerala government has given a big gift to its employees and pensioners. In the budget for the financial year 2024-25, the Kerala government has announced to increase Dearness Allowance. Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal, while presenting the state budget on February 5, announced the increase in DA. According to this, an installment of increased DA will be given to government employees and pension holders in April, 2024.
Guaranteed pension scheme will be launched
While presenting the budget of Kerala government for the financial year 2024-25, Finance Minister Balagopal said – Employees and all the pensioners were demanding increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for a long time. In such a situation, the government has decided to give DA. Along with this, he said that a Guaranteed Pension Scheme will also be introduced for the employees. Apart from this, the currently running pension system will also be reviewed.
Dearness allowance increased in these states in December, 2023
Let us tell you that in many states of the country, dearness allowance has increased only in the last year i.e. December 2023. Among these, the governments of West Bengal, Punjab and Meghalaya had announced to increase DA. Punjab first announced increase in DA for state employees and pensioners on December 18, followed by Meghalaya on December 20 and West Bengal on December 21. After the recent decision of Kerala Government to increase DA, now some more state governments can give the gift of DA to their employees.
What is Dearness Allowance (DA)?
The allowance given to maintain the lifestyle of government employees smoothly in the rising inflation in the country is called Dearness Allowance. Apart from government employees, this money is given to pensioners. Its calculation is done every 6 months according to the current inflation rate. However, dearness allowance may differ for employees in urban, semi-urban or rural areas.