The latest update on DA for central government employees: the Union Cabinet approved a 3 percentage point increase on 28 October 2026, taking Dearness Allowance from 60% to 63% of basic pay with effect from 1 July 2026. Pensioners get the same increase in Dearness Relief (DR). The amount for July onwards is paid with arrears once the Department of Expenditure issues its office memorandum.
DA is not a bonus. It is the part of pay that protects salaries from rising prices, and it is revised twice a year based on a consumer price index for industrial workers. Below you will find the verified status, the method of calculation, a worked example and where to read the official order. All employee news is collected on our government news hub .
DA for central government employees news: status as of November 2026
- 28 October 2026: Cabinet approved DA and DR at 63% from 1 July 2026, an increase of 3 percentage points.
- 18 April 2026: Cabinet approved DA and DR at 60% from 1 January 2026, an increase of 2 percentage points.
- The next scheduled revision is due from 1 January 2027. Its rate depends on the price index figures for the months up to December 2026 and is announced only by the government.
Recent DA rates under the 7th Pay Commission
| Effective from | DA rate (% of basic pay) |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2024 | 50% |
| 1 July 2024 | 53% |
| 1 January 2025 | 55% |
| 1 July 2025 | 58% |
| 1 January 2026 | 60% |
| 1 July 2026 | 63% |
In recent years the January revision has been announced between March and April, and the July revision between September and October. The money is always paid from the effective date, so a late announcement means arrears, not a loss.
How DA is calculated
DA is linked to the All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW), which the Labour Bureau publishes every month. The 7th Central Pay Commission set the method:
- Take the average of the AICPI-IW for the last 12 months.
- Compare it with the base index level fixed by the 7th CPC (261.42 on the old 2001=100 series).
- The percentage by which the 12-month average is above the base is the DA rate.
- Fractions are dropped, so the rate is a whole number.
In simple form: DA% = ((12-month average AICPI-IW minus 261.42) divided by 261.42) multiplied by 100. Since the Labour Bureau moved the index to a new base year (2016=100), the new figures are converted to the old series using a linking factor of 2.88 before applying the formula. The January rate uses index figures up to the previous December, and the July rate uses figures up to June.
Worked example
| Basic pay | DA at 60% | DA at 63% | Increase per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rs 18,000 (Level 1 entry) | Rs 10,800 | Rs 11,340 | Rs 540 |
| Rs 35,400 (Level 6 entry) | Rs 21,240 | Rs 22,302 | Rs 1,062 |
| Rs 56,100 (Level 10 entry) | Rs 33,660 | Rs 35,343 | Rs 1,683 |
Arrears are the monthly increase multiplied by the number of months from the effective date to the month of payment. DA is fully taxable as salary.
DA also affects other parts of your pay. For employees under NPS, the 10% employee contribution and the 14% government contribution are calculated on basic pay plus DA, so both go up when DA rises. Travelling allowance and some other allowances under the 7th CPC also carry a DA component.
Who gets this DA and who does not
- Covered: central government employees drawing pay in the 7th CPC pay matrix, including railway, postal and defence civilian staff, and members of the armed forces.
- Separate rates: employees of some central autonomous bodies or offices still on older (5th or 6th CPC) pay scales get DA at different rates, notified separately by the Department of Expenditure.
- Central PSU staff: executives on the Industrial DA (IDA) pattern get IDA revised quarterly through orders of the Department of Public Enterprises, not this DA.
- State staff, bank staff and private employees: not covered by this decision; their employers set their own rates.
DA and DR: what pensioners get
Dearness Relief is the pensioner's version of DA. It is paid at the same rate on the basic pension or family pension, calculated on the original pension before any commutation. The DoPPW issues the DR order soon after the DA order. Pension-specific updates are on our news for central pensioners page.
Common questions about the 50% mark
When DA reached 50% from 1 January 2024, some allowances linked to DA were revised automatically under the 7th CPC rules. House Rent Allowance went from 27%, 18% and 9% to 30%, 20% and 10% for X, Y and Z class cities, and the gratuity ceiling was raised by 25%. DA itself was not merged into basic pay. The government has said that there is no proposal to merge DA with basic pay.
What happens to DA when the 8th Pay Commission comes
When a new pay commission is implemented, the DA earned so far is folded into the new basic pay through the fitment factor, and DA usually starts again from zero on the new basic. That is what happened when the 7th CPC pay matrix began on 1 January 2016. The 8th Pay Commission is still working on its report; see our 8th Pay Commission explainer for its status and timeline.
Where to find the official DA order
- pib.gov.in: the Cabinet decision is announced here first, usually on the day of the meeting.
- doe.gov.in: the Department of Expenditure office memorandum that actually authorises payment of DA to central employees.
- doppw.gov.in: the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare order on DR.
- labourbureau.gov.in: monthly AICPI-IW figures, if you want to follow the trend yourself.
- Railways, defence and other departments issue their own orders based on the DoE memorandum.
Common problems
- DA arrears not in the salary: arrears are paid after the DoE order reaches your pay office. Ask your DDO or accounts section about the processing month.
- Different figures on social media: many sites post "expected" DA based on their own index projections. Only the Cabinet decision and the DoE memorandum are official.
- State government employees: states decide their own DA. A central hike does not apply automatically to state staff.
- Arrears look wrong: check whether a promotion, increment or leave without pay fell in the arrear months, since arrears are worked out month by month on the basic pay actually drawn.
For other updates on pay, pension and service rules, read the central employees news roundup . If you are applying for a job that comes with DA, browse central government vacancies . HindiScope is not an official site; confirm every rate on doe.gov.in or pib.gov.in.