8th Pay Commission: Central government employees are eagerly awaiting their dearness allowance (DA) payments. A decision on the dearness allowance (DA) for the July-December half-year is expected in the next few days. Prior to this, the central government recently announced the Non-Productivity Linked Bonus (Non-PLB) for its employees for the fiscal year 2025-26. This is also known as an ad hoc bonus or annual bonus. Let’s find out which central government employees will receive the bonus benefits and how much.
Who will benefit?
Group C central government employees and non-gazetted Group B employees who aren’t covered under the Productivity Linked Bonus Scheme will receive this bonus. Eligible personnel from Central Armed Police Forces and Armed Forces will also qualify. An order from October 15, 2026, covers eligible casual employees and outlines the service conditions they need to meet. Employees in Union Territories earning according to the central government pay structure may be eligible too. The key requirement is that the employee isn’t already covered by any other bonus or ex-gratia scheme.
How much will you receive?
Qualifying central government employees will get a bonus worth 30 days’ salary. The bonus is based on a maximum salary of Rs 7,000. Each eligible employee receives Rs 6,908 as their bonus. Your bonus gets calculated using your average monthly salary or the set salary cap, whichever is smaller.
Here’s how the 30-day bonus calculation works:
Rs 7,000 × 30 ÷ 30.4 = Rs 6,907.89
When rounded to the nearest rupee, the bonus comes to Rs 6,908. This same maximum limit applies to bonus calculations for eligible employees earning more than Rs 7,000 monthly.
Bonus calculation for casual workers
Eligible casual workers use a monthly salary limit of Rs 1,200 for their 30-day bonus calculation. Here’s the math:
Rs 1,200 × 30 ÷ 30.4 = Rs 1,184.21
After rounding to the nearest rupee, casual workers receive Rs 1,184 as their bonus. If an employee’s actual monthly salary falls below Rs 1,200, their bonus gets calculated based on what they actually earn.
Central government employees are looking forward to their DA announcement. If everything goes smoothly, the government might announce a DA increase this week. This announcement could bring a 3 to 4 percent boost. Following this, employees’ DA could reach 63 or 64 percent.