New Delhi, April 23: The Union Ministry of Finance on Thursday informed that the government had cancelled the additional installment of dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) to central government employees from January 1, 2020. Adding on, Centre said that they would not even pay the additional installments of DA and DR from July 1 2020 and January 1, 2021.

Informing about the latest development, the Finance Ministry said, as quoted by news agency ANI, "Addl installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) payable to central govt employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to central govt pensioners, due from 1st Jan, 2020 shall not be paid." Nirmala Sitharaman Likely to Announce Another Economic Package for Worst-Hit Sectors Amid Recession Fears Due to Lockdown.

Apart from this, the Union Ministry said, "Additional installments of DA and DR from July 1 2020 and January 1, 2021 shall also not be paid." However, the government added, "Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief at current rates will continue to be paid."

Here's the tweet by ANI:

Earlier on Thursday, the Finance Ministry had issued a statement stating that all the personal staff whose tenure is co-terminus with Minister Finance and Corporate Affairs -- Nirmala Sitharaman have offered to forego one day's salary every month until March 2021. The Ministry said that the move has been taken to contribute towards the nation's fight against COVID-19. Lockdown Extension May Shut 25% MSMEs Permanently, Liquidity Crunch Will Choke India's 6.9 Crore Small Traders: Experts.

Here's the Finance Ministry's tweet:

Last week, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him the situation of the Indian economy. With the announcement of extension of lockdown period in India till May 3 amid the Coronavirus pandemic, reports arrived that Union government is mulling for another economic stimulus for the worst-hit sectors. Earlier in March 2020, Union Finance Ministry announced a stimulus of Rs 1.7 lakh crore for the poor through a mix of direct cash transfer, free LPG cylinders, free food grains, and others.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 23, 2020 01:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).