DA Hike: Big news for central government employees. The central government may deliver good news to employees just before Holi. If current expectations are true, the Dearness Allowance (DA) could increase by 2 percent, bringing the minimum DA for the lowest-paid employees to Rs 10,800 per month. Pensioners are also likely to benefit, as Dearness Relief (DR) will be based on DA.
How much is the DA now?
Currently, central government employees receive 58% DA under the 7th Pay Commission framework. This rate has been in effect since October 2025, when the government approved a 3% increase based on the current inflation data. Now, with the release of new inflation data, expectations of another increase have increased.
Why is there a possibility of a 2% increase in DA?
The change in DA is due to the AICPI-IW (All India Consumer Price Index–Industrial Workers), which is released monthly by the Labor Ministry. The AICPI-IW for December 2025 was 148.2. The 12-month average has reached 145.54, meaning the calculated DA is approximately 60.33%. Since the current DA is 58%, this calculation indicates a 2% increase, which would bring the DA to 60%.
The central government may deliver good news to employees just before Holi. If current expectations are true, the Dearness Allowance (DA) could increase by 2 percent, bringing the minimum DA for the lowest-paid employees to Rs 10,800 per month. Pensioners are also likely to benefit, as Dearness Relief (DR) will be based on DA.
How will the minimum DA be Rs 10800?
– The minimum basic pay for Level 1 employees is Rs 18,000.
– 2% of Rs 18,000 = Rs 360 per month
– DA at 60% of Rs 18,000 = Rs 10,800 per month
This means that the monthly DA of the lowest paid central government employees will reach Rs 10,800 after the hike is notified.
Chance of receiving two months’ back pay
Even though the DA increase is set to kick in January, the official announcement usually comes a bit later. Because of this delay, both employees and pensioners are likely to get the updated DA along with back pay for two months (January and February) in their salary or pension.
Talk about the Holi announcement is heating up
There’s a lot of chatter in the national capital that the government might reveal a DA hike before Holi, which is on March 4th this year. Normally, the government announces the January DA hike in March, and sometimes it happens in the last week of February or early March. This timing aligns perfectly with what people are expecting right now.
Pensioners will also gain equally through DR
The DA boost won’t just apply to current employees. Retired employees will see this increase as dearness relief (DR). DR is adjusted at the same rate as DA, keeping things fair between employees and pensioners. In total, over 1 crore individuals, including both employees and pensioners, are anticipated to benefit from this possible increase.
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Sweta Mitra
Working in the media for last 7 years. The journey started in the year 2018. For the past few years, my working experience has been in Bengali media. Currently working at Timesbull.com. Here I write like Business, National, and Utility News. My favorite hobbies are listening to music, traveling, food,...
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