DA Hike– Will there be a 3% increase in DA? Govt employees luck will shine in anyday

DA Hike– Big news for central government employees. The Modi government at the Center is going to give a big gift to central employees and pensioners. In fact, as a big relief in the festive season, more than 1.2 crore central employees and pensioners can get the benefit of a 3% increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR).

The Center can announce this in the first week of October, just before Diwali. This will be the last DA hike under the 7th Pay Commission before the 8th Pay Commission .If the Modi government increases it by 3%, then the DA of the employees will increase from 55% to 58%. This increased DA will be applicable from July 2025. According to a report by Financial Express, employees and pensioners will also get three months’ arrears. It is expected to be paid with the October salary.

How many times does DA increase in a year ?

The central government increases DA twice a year. Once before Holi for the January-June period and the second time before Diwali for July-December. Last year, the central government announced the hike on October 16, 2024, about two weeks before the festival. This time Diwali falls on October 20-21 and the timing of this announcement is being seen as a festive gift for central employees.

Under the 7th Pay Commission, DA is determined using the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW). This formula is based on the 12-month average of CPI-IW data. From July 2024 to June 2025, the average CPI-IW stood at 143.6, which is equivalent to a DA rate of 58%. This means that the DA of central government employees will increase by three percentage points during the July-December 2025 cycle.

How much will the salary increase due to DA hike?

Increasing DA increases the salary of employees. To understand this with an example, suppose the basic salary of any employee is Rs 50,000, then under the old DA rate of 55%, the allowance used to be Rs 27,500. With the new DA of 58%, it will increase to Rs 29,000. This means that the employee will now get an additional Rs 1,500 every month. That is, his salary will increase by Rs 1500.