DA Hike: More than 4.9 million central employees and over 6.8 million pensioners are eagerly waiting for a dearness allowance (DA-DR) increase prior to the 8th Pay Commission. The final DA increase for the financial year 2025-26 was supposed to be revealed in January 2026, but it has faced continuous delays. January has come and gone, February has passed, and so has March.
Now, ten days into April, there is still no announcement regarding the DA hike. Recently, two significant updates have surfaced on this matter. One relates to the unfortunate delay in the announcement, while the other is that employee organizations have reached out to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with letters regarding this issue. This news brings a sense of hope and relief.
Indeed, the unprecedented delay in the announcement of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) by the Central Government has raised concerns among employees and pensioners. The CCGAW, or ‘Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers’, along with AINPSEF, which stands for ‘All India NPS Employees Federation’, have sent a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, requesting her to take action and announce the DA hike at the earliest.
What did both organizations express in their letter? In an interview with NDTV, Manjeet Singh Patel, the president of the All India NPS Employees Federation, highlighted a critical issue in a letter addressed to the Finance Minister on behalf of the organization. He mentioned that this delay has instilled fear among employees that their dearness allowance might be frozen, similar to what happened during the COVID period. This situation is adversely affecting employee morale.
Meanwhile, CCGAW General Secretary SB Yadav stated in the letter, “Typically, DA/DR payments that are due from January are announced by the last week of March, and the arrears for three months are received in the first week of April. However, this time, the absence of such announcements has led to widespread dissatisfaction and concern among employees and pensioners.”
Manjeet Singh Patel said, “In the last 15 years, it has never happened that the dearness allowance (DA) increase due in January wasn’t released until April. Even in April, the dearness allowance hasn’t been announced despite so many days having passed. Employees and pensioners fear that the DA may be frozen. If this happens, it will have an adverse impact on employee morale.”
Additionally, there’s a growing suspicion among employees that the delay is due to the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam. Patel has urged Union Finance Minister Sitharaman to immediately release the DA to boost employee morale and strengthen their trust in the government.
What is the reason for the delay, how much will the DA increase?
Typically, the government announces DA around festivals like Holi or Diwali. In 2025, the announcement was made on March 28th, 14 days after Holi. Experts believe that this delay does not indicate any policy change by the government. They cite administrative processes as potential reasons for the delay. They say that the approval cycle and paperwork may be the reasons for the delay. Administrative coordination with the formation of the Eighth Pay Commission and the steps leading up to it may also be contributing to the delay in the announcement.
Regarding the current DA, central government employees currently receive DA at the rate of 58% of their basic salary. According to AICPI-IW data, a 2% increase in DA is expected from January 2026, which could bring it to 60%. The relief for employees is that regardless of when the announcement is made, employees and pensioners will receive their full arrears from January 2026 until now. Currently, all eyes are on the Cabinet’s next decision.
