New Delhi: In accordance with the 7th Pay Commission, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel announced a 3% raise in the DA on August 15. According to Patel, this increase will take effect retroactively on January 1, 2022.

After raising the national flag at Modasa in the Aravalli area as part of a state-level celebration of the nation’s 76th Independence Day, the Gujarat Chief Minister made the statement. The CM also made an appeal to the attendees to put their national interest above all else throughout the event.

The increase in Dearness Allowance will benefit around 9.38 lakh state government employees, panchayat employees, and pensioners. According to CM Patel, this will result in an annual financial burden increase for the state government of around Rs. 1,400 crore.

Additionally, CM Patel disclosed that the National Food Security Act’s social programmes would be expanded (NFSA). The one-kg gramme (pulses) per card per family programme for holders of NFSA cards would be expanded, and the income qualifying requirements for beneficiaries under the Act would be widened.

He stated that one kg of grammes (pulses) per card, per month, at a discounted rate, will be provided to 71 lakh NFSA card users from all 250 talukas of the state. Only those from 50 developing talukas are now receiving benefits from the programme. According to him, the previous threshold for qualifying under the NFSA for monthly income has been raised to $15,000 from $10,000.

“It is our responsibility to keep reaching new heights of safety and peace in a peaceful, developing and safe Gujarat and establish new records of all-inclusive development. Let us take a pledge to make this festival of Independence as the opportunity to make national interest as paramount in our hearts and minds,” he said.

“We have developed a work culture where people feel least troubled and their issues are resolved at the earliest,” Patel said. Along with education, health and security, the government has also focused on agriculture, rural development, uplift of the poor and industrial development, he said. “Whether it is the industry, rural development, farming, ease of revenue related services, the Gujarat government has always taken citizen-oriented decisions to establish the state remains as a leader on the world map,” he said.

“Revolutionary steps have been taken to ensure farmers get enough electricity along with water. All four power distribution companies have got the ‘A’ grade for power distribution. Gujarat is leading in renewable energy. It is the first state to have a Solar Energy Policy,” the CM said.

In addition, Patel discussed the various social welfare programmes, business-friendly government policies, and labour and power availability that, in the CM’s opinion, make Gujarat the “best state.” Several development-oriented policies were developed with a focus on semiconductors, biotechnology, IT, drones, historical tourism, and electric vehicles, according to him, and PM Modi made Gujarat a policy-driven state.