NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 7
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Modi cabinet on Thursday announced an increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) of Central government employees by four per cent. The Cabinet has also approved the continuation of the Rs 300 subsidy to PM Ujjwala Yojana consumers till March 31, 2025. The total expenditure for this will be Rs 12,000 crores, Union Minister Piyush Goyal informed.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved to release an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners w.e.f. January 1, 2024 representing an increase of 4% over the existing rate of 46% of the Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate against price rise.
- This will benefit about 49.18 lakh Central Government employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners.
- Govt extends Rs 300 subsidy on LPG cylinders under Ujjwala scheme
- 10.27 crore PMUY beneficiaries to get subsidy directly in their accounts
The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be Rs.12,868.72 crore per annum. This will benefit about 49.18 lakh Central Government employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners.
This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.
Govt extends Rs 300 subsidy on LPG cylinders under Ujjwala scheme
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the continuation of targeted subsidy of Rs.300 per 14.2 kg cylinder (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 kg cylinder) for up to 12 refills per year to be provided to the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) during FY 2024-25. As on 1st March, 2024 there are more than 10.27 crore PMUY beneficiaries.
The total expenditure will be Rs.12,000 crore for financial year 2024-25. The subsidy is credited directly to bank accounts of the eligible beneficiaries.
To make Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), a clean cooking fuel, available to the rural and deprived poor households, Government launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in May 2016, to provide deposit free LPG connections to adult women of poor households.
India imports about 60% of it’s LPG requirement. To shield PMUY beneficiaries from the impact of sharp fluctuations in international prices of LPG and to make LPG more affordable to PMUY consumers thereby ensuring sustained usage of LPG by them, Government started a targeted subsidy of Rs 200/- per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per annum (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 kg connections) to the PMUY consumers in May 2022. In October 2023, Government increased targeted subsidy to Rs.300 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per annum (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 kg connections). As on 01.02.2024, the effective price of domestic LPG for PMUY consumers is Rs.603 per 14.2 Kg LPG cylinder (Delhi).
Average LPG consumption of PMUY consumers has increased by 29 percent from 3.01 refills in 2019-20 to 3.87 refills (till January 2024) prorated for 2023-24. All PMUY beneficiaries are eligible for this targeted subsidy.
