The central government has given Diwali gift to lakhs of central employees and pensioners of the country. On Wednesday, the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the increase in dearness allowance for central employees and dearness relief for pensioners.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav gave information about the decision of the cabinet meeting. He said that the government has approved a 3% increase in Dearness Allowance (DA). That means, dearness allowance of employees will now increase from 60 percent to 63 percent. This decision to increase DA and DR will increase the annual additional expenditure of Rs 10,016 crore on the central government treasury.
Let us tell you that in order to reduce the impact of rising inflation on the living standards of the employees, the Central Government revises the rates of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief twice a year (usually in January and July). This time, DA has been increased by 3% in the cycle of July 2026, due to which the total dearness allowance of the employees has increased from 60% to 63%.
DA hike applicable from July 1
DA hike of central employees will be applicable from July 1, 2026 only. Is. This increase in dearness allowance will be applicable from July itself. That means, arrears will also be added to the next salary of the employees. Let us tell you that after the rate is decided on the basis of All India CPI-IW data and fixed formula, the proposal is placed before the competent authority and DA hike is decided.
Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers (COCGEW) has recently demanded that the decision to amend DA/DR should be taken without any delay. With this, the revised rate can be implemented from July 1, 2026 and the outstanding arrears arising from that date can also be paid.
The 7th Central Pay Commission is currently in force in the country and according to its rules, DA, which will be applicable from July 1, 2026, is determined on the basis of the average AICPI-IW index of the last 12 months (July 2025 to June 2026).
Based on the formula fixed for central government employees, it was around 63.82%, hence 3% increase was expected from DA-DR. Now after the announcement of 3 percent increase in DA, lakhs of employees have got relief in the festive season.
Source: ndtv.in
