Dearness allowance (DA) is a component of the basic salary of central government employees, public sector staff, defence personnel, bank employees and dearness relief (DR) pensioners that is periodically adjusted for inflation.
Revised twice annually by the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPI), with new announcements usually made in March and October and rollouts scheduled in January and July, it is aimed at mitigating the rising and has an impact on employees’ salaries.
DA hiked 2% in April for over 1 crore beneficiaries
It was last hiked by 2% in April this year, effectively taking the component to 60% of the basic pay for central government employees and pensioners. DA and DR are meant to mitigate higher .
Also Read |
About 50 lakh central government employees and around 65 lakh retired central government pensioners, including defence personnel and retirees, will benefit from an increase in DA and (DR) components.
DA is fully taxable and subject to income tax at the applicable slab rate. Notably, DA is available only to public-sector employees.
Dearness Allowance: Here are top 12 latest updates
- On 22 June, West Bengal hiked DA and DR for state government employees and pensioners by 20%, with effect from October. This takes the components to 38% of basic salary and narrowed the pay gap between state and central government counterparts by 22 percentage points — down from 42 percentage points.
Also Read |
- On 8 June, Pradesh government said it is reviewing DA and pending arrears for state employees and pensioners. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has directed the state Finance Department to withdraw its notice regarding the deferment of salaries and release the pending pension arrears.
- On 11 June, Himachal Pradesh said it will pay full salary, including dearness allowance (DA) and house rent allowance (HRA) of state government employees when they avail study leave for higher education — up from previous 40% cap.
- On 30 May, government 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 payment of arrears for employees and pensioners based on revised salary and pension benefits for the period between 1 January 2016 to 30 June 2021.
Also Read |
- In May, the Indian Banks’ Association () announced revised DA and DR for workmen and officer employees 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. The Railway Board said DA and DR have been revised for lakhs of employees, pensioners, family pensioners, and other eligible beneficiaries covered under the 7th pay commission framework.
- Also in May, has approved a 2-percentage-point increase in DA and DR, 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.
- 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 Arunachal Pradesh government, central government employees on deputation to the state government, and all regular state government employees.
Also Read |
- 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 Tamil Nadu state government employees, teachers, individual pensioners, and family pensioners will benefit from this DA hike, as per the official state government release.
- 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 employees 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%.
- 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 salary. 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.
Also Read |
- Uttar Pradesh on 21 May, announced a 2% hike in DA and DR for state government employees and pensioners, effective from 1 January. This increases the DA component of staff compensation to 60% of basic pay from 58% and will benefit around 16 lakh Uttar Pradesh government employees, teachers, and pensioners.
- approved payment of ₹800 crore DA arrears 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.