Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has approved a 4% dearness allowance (DA) hike for state government employees. which would entail an additional expenditure of Rs 2,366.82 crore annually to the exchequer, will benefit 16 lakh government employees, teachers, pensioners and those receiving family pension, an official release said on may 17th. The hike comes into effect retrospectively from the start of the financial year, April 1, 2023. The DA was increased from 38% to 42%, the release added.