A component of the basic salary, Dearness Allowance aims to help mitigate cost-of-living expenses for central government employees, public sector staff, defence personnel, bank employees, and pensioners. DA is revised bi-annually by the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPI) with new announcements in March and October followed by rollouts in January and July.
So far in 2026, states including , Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have announced DA hikes of varying percentages. This came after the Union Finance Ministry in April revised DA and dearness relief (DR) by 2% with effect from 1 January this year. This effectively takes the component up from 58% to 60% of Basic Pay.
DA hikes: States revise dearness allowance rates — Details
Here’s a look at how much increase each state has rolled out for employees:
- Assam on 5 July approved a 2-percentage-point increase in , up from 58% to 60% with immediate effect, benefitting more than 8 lakh serving state government employees, pensioners, family pensioners, extraordinary pensioners and compassionate family pensioners
- On 6 May, Arunachal Pradesh hiked DA and DR for its employees by 2%, effective from 1 January 2026. DA in basic pay is now up to 60% from 58% and will be implemented for 69,248 regular employees — All India Service Officers serving under the government, central government employees on deputation to the state government, and all regular state government employees.
Further, the enhanced DR will cover 40,477 individual and family pensioners across the state. Financial burden on the exchequer for the DA, DR hike will cost an estimated ₹100.54 crore for the state, and arrears dues for the January to April 2026 period will likely be around ₹33.51 crore.
- On 14 May, Tamil Nadu hiked DA for state government employees, pensioners and teachers by 2%, effective from 1 January 2026, taking allocation to 60% of basic salary. The state will bear additional annual expenditure of ₹1,230 crore.
As many as 16 lakh state government employees, teachers, individual pensioners, and family pensioners will benefit from this DA hike, as per the official state government release.
- On 14 May, Bihar also announced that employees and pensioners under the 6th Pay Commission will get a 5-percentage-point hike in DA and DR, i.e. DA will be raised from 257% to 262%, effective from 1 January. For under the 5th CPC, DA has been increased by 9 percentage points, from 474%to 483%, and for those under the 7th CPC, it has been raised from 58% to 60%.
- On 15 May, Odisha announced a 2% increase in DA for state government employees and pensioners, up from 58% to 60%, effective from 1 January, as per a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). It added that this would be paid along with the May . Alongside this, the temporary increase (TI) for pensioners was also raised by 2% and will be reflected in the May pension. Around 8.5 lakh state government employees and pensioners are expected to benefit from the announcement.
DA, DR and arrears related announcements: List
- On 2 May, the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) announced revised DA and DR for workmen and officer across levels for the months of May, June and July 2026. It hiked basic salaries between ₹48,000 to ₹1,17,000 and DA from ₹435 to ₹1,050.
- This was followed by a 2% DA and DR hike announced by the Indian Railways on 13 May. The said DA and Dearness Relief (DR) have been revised for lakhs of employees, pensioners, family pensioners, and other eligible beneficiaries covered under the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) framework.
- Meanwhile, Maharashtra approved payment of ₹800 crore for state government employees under the 5th, 6th and 7th central pay commissions for November and December 2025 and January 2026. It also approved 2% increase in DR for retired All India Services officers.
- The Punjab government on 30 May said it will consider payment of pending DA and DR dues to state government employees (across categories) and pensioners for the period between 1 July 2021 to 31 March 2024. It added that a sub-committee will discuss of arrears for employees and pensioners based on revised salary and pension benefits for the period between 1 January 2016 to 30 June 2021.
- The Joint Struggle Forum of State Government Employees on 1 June said West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari assured them the state will implement the on payment of DA dues for the period between 2008 to 2019. Earlier in May, the state approved formation of its 7th state pay commission to decide salary and DA hikes for state government employees, educational institutions, government corporation and board staff, and state government-aided bodies.
- The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of road transport corporation workers’ unions in Karnataka is demanding 25% salary hike and for payment of DA arrears for 38 months (totalling ₹1,272 crore) in a single instalment, and merger of 31% DA component in basic pay, along with increases in daily bata (wages) and other allowances.
Is a DA hike likely in July 2026?
According to government data, retail in April 2026 rose to 3.48%, while food inflation climbed to 4.20%. Rising food (milk, vegetables and other essentials), power and fuel (CNG, diesel and petrol) prices are putting pressure on household budgets, and an adjustment in DA would significantly help address inflation concerns for burdened middle-class households, lower-income groups and daily commuters.
While there is no official word yet, the debate over a higher DA revision has gained momentum. Employees and pensioners are increasingly looking forward to a 2-3% hike in July.
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