Cabinet hikes DA for govt employees

26 Feb 2009 | 12:10 Cabinet hikes DA for govt employees

The Union Cabinet today, 26 February 2009, raised the dearness allowance (DA) paid to government employees to 22% of basic salary, from an earlier 16%. The hike will cost Rs 3514 crore to the government, Home Minister P Chidambaram said.

The decision to hike the DA is clearly aimed at wooing voters. The Election Commission is likely to shortly announce the dates for Lok Sabha elections which are likely to he held in April-May 2009.

In another decision, the Cabinet allowed state government to run up higher fiscal deficits.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Modest gains at Wall Street

28 Jan 2009 | 09:31 Modest gains at Wall Street stocks at Wall Street managed a steady end with some modest gains on Tuesday, 27 January, 2009. Though stocks dealt with a couple of worse thane expected earning reports since morning, the indices have managed to stay in the green for the entire session. Crude prices dropped drastically today. After being up by more than 80 points earlier during the day, The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher by 58 points at 8,174, the Nasdaq closed higher by 15 points at 1,504 and the S&P 500 closed higher by 9 points at 845. While the financial and technology sectors led today, consumer discretionary and telecom sectors were the laggards for the day. In the earning arena today, Dow component Verizon met expectations. Market is looking forward to AT&T's quarterly report tomorrow. American Express reported better than feared earnings and the company reported th...
Read more

Earning warnings shake sentiments at Wall Street

13 Jan 2009 | 09:16 Earning warnings shake sentiments at Wall Street Stocks at Wall Street ended lower on Monday, 12 January, 2009. Earning warnings sent US stocks lower today ahead of Alcoa's earnings report scheduled after today's close. Energy sector and the financial sector led the declines. The weakness was broad based in the overall market. A bit of late support kept stocks from closing at their session lows. Still, losses were deep and broad-based, extending last week's declines. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average ended lower by 125 points at 8,474, the Nasdaq closed lower by 33 points at 1,538 and the S&P 500 closed lower by 20 points at 870. Nine of the ten sectors ended in the red today led by the financial sector. Twenty-five out of thirty Dow stocks ended in the red today led by Citigroup and Alcoa. IBM tried to support the Dow. Alcoa was a laggard in the materials ...
Read more

Budget 2008- What you can Expect

Budget 2008 – Expectations   --Life may be less taxing after Budget – --FM may hike STT, says NSDL's Tilak --Brokerage expectations from 2008/09 budget --BPO industry seeks separate identity --Drug cos seek cure for R&D in the forthcoming budget --Animation & gaming companies want STPI-like tax break for exports --Textile machinery sector needs a booster dose --Dismantle tax on house construction: Urban Housing Ministry --Consumer durable makers for lower indirect taxes --Plantation cos look for rejuvenation package --Budget 2008: Govt should allow 100% FDI in retail --Lotus Mutual CEO expects, at best, mildly positive Budget --Excise, interest rate cuts to improve manufacturing: FICCI --Brainstorming with ET: Great minds on Budget     Life may be less taxing after Budget – NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram might spread cheer all around with Budget 2008-09, the last full-fledged Budget of the UPA government. A hi...
Read more