New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the release of an additional instalment of dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for Central Government employees and pensioners. The decision to hike the DA by 2 per cent was taken at a meeting chaired by PM Modi.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The employees will now get DA and DR at 7 per cent of the basic pay and pension. The same will be given with retrospective effect from January 1, 2018. The government said the DA and DR had been hiked to compensate for the price rise. The hike will benefit 48.41 lakh employees and 61.17 lakh pensioners. The impact on the exchequer would be Rs 6,077.72 cr per annum. TNS