The Cabinet will on Thursday consider a hike in the dearness allowance for central government employees and pensioners by three per cent from 21 per cent of their basic salary at present. The decision will be effective from January 2006.
The hike in DA to 24 per cent will cost the government an additional Rs 1,130 crore (Rs 11.3 billion) per annum. The burden for January-February 2006-07 on account of the DA increase will be Rs 1,320 crore (Rs 13.2 billion).
The additional cost in case of pensioners will be Rs 460 crore (Rs 4.6 billion) per annum. It will also consider a proposal regarding granting of ex-post facto approval to extend the time to comply with telecom FDI norms, for increasing FDI in telecom from 49 per cent to 74 per cent by four months until July 4, 2006.
The SBI Subsidiary Bank Act and changes to the Banking Regulations Amendment Bill and the RBI Amendment Bill are also on the agenda.
The decision not to proceed with the disinvestment in Hindustan Newsprint is also likely to be taken up at the meeting. The Maritime Policy and the enactment of the National Institute of Technology Act are also on the agenda.
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