Kumar Bahukhandi
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav.Photo
New Delhi : The Union Cabinet on Wednesday October 01, 2025 increased Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) by 3 per cent for about 49.19 lakh central government employees and 68.72 lakh pensioners.
The DA/DR increase of 3 per cent over the existing rate of 55 per cent of the basic pay/pension to compensate against the price rise is effective July 1, 2025.
The combined impact on the exchequer on account of an increase in DA and DR will be Rs 10,083.96 crore per annum, I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while briefing on decisions taken in the Cabinet meeting.
The increase is in accordance with the accepted formula based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.
Govt raises wheat MSP
The government also announced a 6.59 per cent increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat to Rs 2,585 per quintal for the 2026-27 marketing year, up from Rs 2,425 per quintal last year.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Briefing the media, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Cabinet had approved the MSP for six rabi crops for 2026-27 based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
In absolute terms, the highest increase has been announced for safflower at Rs 600 per quintal, followed by lentil (masur) at Rs 300 per quintal.
For rapeseed and mustard, the increase is Rs 250 per quintal; gram Rs 225 per quintal; barley Rs 170 per quintal; and wheat Rs 160 per quintal.
The MSP for barley has been increased to Rs 2,150 per quintal from Rs 1,980 per quintal.
Among key rabi pulses, the support price for gram has been fixed at Rs 5,875 per quintal, up from Rs 5,650 per quintal, while lentil MSP has been raised to Rs 7,000 per quintal from Rs 6,700 per quintal.
For oilseeds, the MSP of rapeseed and mustard has been raised to Rs 6,200 per quintal from Rs 5,950 per quintal, while safflower support price has been increased to Rs 6,540 per quintal from Rs 5,940 per quintal.
The increased MSP for rabi crops is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices for farmers and incentivising crop diversification.
The hike is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production.
The expected margin over all-India weighted average cost of production is 109 per cent for wheat, 93 per cent for rapeseed and mustard, 89 per cent for lentil, 59 per cent for gram, 58 per cent for barley, and 50 per cent for safflower.
Wheat is the main rabi (winter) crop, with sowing beginning from late October and harvesting from March onwards.
The wheat marketing year starts from April and much of the grain is procured by June.
Other rabi crops include jowar, barley, gram and lentil.
The government has set a record wheat production target of 119 million tonne for the 2025-26 crop year (July-June), as against the actual output estimated at a record 117.5 million tonne for 2024-25.
(Source-PTI)
