About 88 lakh Central government employees and pensioners received a bonanza with 10 percentage point increase in their Dearness Allowance, ahead of the festive season. A decision to this effect was made by the Union Cabinet which met in New Delhi on Thursday. According to an official press release the total impact on the exchequer will be over 9 thousand 300 crore rupees annually, while six thousand 200 crore rupees for the current financial year. An official spokesperson said, after a meeting of the Cabinet that the new DA will be paid with retrospective effect from July 1, 2010.