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Government Services

DA Hike: How Dearness Allowance Is Revised and Paid

DA is 60% of basic pay from 1 January 2026. The July 2026 hike is not yet announced; once approved, it is paid from 1 July with arrears.

VD

Written by Vikram Desai

Published 20 September 2026·6 min read

On this page8 sections
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Dearness allowance (DA) for central government employees is 60% of basic pay from 1 January 2026, up from 58%. The next revision is due from 1 July 2026, but the Cabinet had not approved it by 16 September 2026. Once approved, the new rate will apply from 1 July, and the gap is paid as arrears.

Key facts

Item Detail
Current DA rate 60% of basic pay, from 1 January 2026
Previous rate 58%, from 1 July 2025
Cabinet approval of the 60% rate 18 April 2026
Order for employees Department of Expenditure OM No. 1/1(i)/2026-E.II(B), 22 April 2026
Order for pensioners Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare OM, 24 April 2026 (DR raised from 58% to 60%)
Revision dates 1 January and 1 July each year
Price index used All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW), Labour Bureau
Who benefits (January 2026 rise) About 50.46 lakh employees and 68.27 lakh pensioners
Cost of the January 2026 rise ₹6,791.24 crore a year for DA and DR together
July 2026 revision Not announced as of 16 September 2026

What DA is and who gets it

DA is a cost-of-living payment calculated as a percentage of basic pay. The Department of Expenditure order says DA stays “a distinct element of remuneration” and is not treated as pay under FR 9(21).

“Basic pay” means the pay drawn in your level of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) pay matrix. Special pay and other kinds of pay are left out.

The Department of Expenditure order covers central government civilian employees and civilian staff paid from the Defence Services Estimates. The defence and railway ministries issue separate orders for armed forces personnel and railway employees. State government employees get DA under their own state’s orders, and states set their own rates and dates.

How the DA rate is calculated

The Cabinet says each rise follows “the accepted formula” based on 7th CPC recommendations. That formula uses the AICPI-IW, which the Labour Bureau publishes every month. The index has been on a 2016=100 base since September 2020, and the Labour Bureau set a linking factor of 2.88 to convert it to the older 2001=100 series.

Staff-news and pay-calculator sites, such as IndianPayCalculator, set out the working formula as:

DA % = [(12-month average of AICPI-IW × 2.88) − 261.42] ÷ 261.42 × 100

Here 261.42 is the 2015 average of the old series, and any fraction of a percent is dropped. The official orders do not print this working. Treat any figure you calculate as an estimate until the government issues its order.

The July 2026 index stood at 153.2, up from 151.9 in June, according to Labour Bureau data reported by Upstox. Index figures from July onwards feed the January 2027 revision, not the July 2026 one.

The revision cycle and arrears

DA changes from 1 January and 1 July. The Cabinet usually approves each rise a few months later, and the rise is then paid from the effective date.

Effective from New rate Increase Cabinet approval
1 January 2025 55% 2 points 28 March 2025
1 July 2025 58% 3 points 1 October 2025
1 January 2026 60% 2 points 18 April 2026
1 July 2026 Not announced Pending Pending

Take the January 2026 rise. The Department of Expenditure issued its order on 22 April 2026, with effect from 1 January. The extra 2% for January up to the month the new rate reached pay slips was due as arrears.

For July 2026, several staff-news sites expect DA to reach 63%, based on published index figures. The government has not confirmed that rate. Until the order appears on the Department of Expenditure website, any number you see is a projection.

Where the 8th Pay Commission fits

The Cabinet approved the terms of reference of the 8th Central Pay Commission on 28 October 2025. The Commission has 18 months from its constitution to make recommendations. The government said the effect of a new pay commission “would normally be expected from 01.01.2026”. Until its recommendations are accepted, DA continues under the 7th CPC formula.

DA vs DR for pensioners

Pensioners get Dearness Relief (DR) instead of DA. DR is a percentage of basic pension or family pension, and each Cabinet decision raises both by the same amount.

Point DA DR
Paid to Serving employees Pensioners and family pensioners
Calculated on Basic pay Basic pension or family pension
Order issued by Department of Expenditure Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare
Rate from 1 January 2026 60% 60%

The DR order covers civilian, armed forces, railway and All India Service pensioners. It tells Accountant General offices and pension-paying banks to pay the new rate without waiting for further instructions.

How to check your DA amount

  1. Find your basic pay on your latest pay slip. It is the figure for your level and cell in the pay matrix.
  2. Multiply basic pay by the current rate of 60%.
  3. Round the result: 50 paise or more goes up to the next rupee, and less than 50 paise is ignored.
  4. Compare the result with the DA line on your pay slip.
  5. After a revision, multiply your basic pay by the rise in points and by the number of months since the effective date. That gives a rough arrears figure.

Example: the entry pay at Level 1 is ₹18,000 a month. DA at 60% is ₹10,800. At 58% it was ₹10,440, so the January 2026 rise added ₹360 a month. Four months of arrears would come to ₹1,440 before tax.

DA also affects house rent allowance. HRA rates were set to rise to 27%, 18% and 9% when DA crossed 25%, and to 30%, 20% and 10% when DA crossed 50%. Use the take-home salary calculator to see what a rise does to your in-hand pay, and our guide to CTC vs in-hand salary for how deductions work. Arrears are taxed with your salary; check the income tax slabs for your rate.

Frequently asked questions

What is the current DA rate for central government employees?

60% of basic pay from 1 January 2026, under the Department of Expenditure order dated 22 April 2026.

Has the DA hike from July 2026 been announced?

No. As of 16 September 2026 the Cabinet has not approved the July 2026 revision. Figures such as 63% are projections, not orders.

Will I get arrears for the July 2026 DA hike?

Yes, once the Cabinet approves it. The revised rate will apply from 1 July 2026, so the difference for the months before your salary is updated is paid as arrears.

How often is DA revised?

Twice a year, with effect from 1 January and 1 July, based on the AICPI-IW published by the Labour Bureau.

Do pensioners get the DA hike?

Pensioners get Dearness Relief at the same rate. DR rose from 58% to 60% from 1 January 2026.

Does the central DA hike apply to state government employees?

No. Each state issues its own DA orders, and the rate and timing can differ from the centre’s.

Is DA counted as basic pay?

No. The order says DA is a distinct element of pay and is not treated as pay under FR 9(21).

Sources

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