DA Arrears: Big news for central employees. In  the last week of October, the central government increased dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for its employees and pensioners by 3%. With this increase, the DA rate for central government employees has reached 63%, effective July 1. Experts say the announcement came too late for the increase to be included in employees’ October salaries. As a result, they will receive DA arrears for July, August, September, and October with their November salary.

Several state governments have also announced DA increases. Chhattisgarh, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh have each approved a 2% increase. Karnataka has announced a 2.5% rise, while Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand have each approved a 3% increase. Himachal Pradesh has announced a 5% increase.

Punjab: Earlier this month, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced a 3% DA increase for state government employees and pensioners, benefiting around 800,000 people. He said the higher DA would be included in December salaries and pensions. The move raises Punjab’s DA rate from 50% to 53%, effective November 1, 2026.

Arunachal Pradesh: Chief Minister Pema Khandu announced a 3% increase in DA and DR for state government employees and pensioners. The increase will be paid with November salaries and pensions. He said the arrears for the four months from July through October would be paid in cash and deposited directly into employees’ salary accounts and pensioners’ accounts, including those of family pensioners.

Uttarakhand: A 3% DA increase has been approved for state employees. Eligible employees will receive the arrears for the period from July 1 to October 31, 2026, in cash.

The Uttar Pradesh government has also raised the DA for state employees by 3 percentage points, bringing it to 63%. The increase takes effect on July 1, 2026. According to the government order, the increased DA for October will be paid along with the regular salary for November 2026. The outstanding amount for the four months from July to September 2026 will be deposited into employees’ Provident Fund (PF) accounts. This means that employees will receive arrears for this period in their PF accounts instead of directly in cash.