DA Hike: Government workers nationwide are eagerly anticipating the rollout of the 8th Pay Commission along with the DA increase. Although the central government hasn’t yet revealed the DA hike details that will kick in from July 2026, various states are already announcing their own DA increases. Following positive developments in Sikkim and Tripura, Telangana government employees now have reason to celebrate. The Telangana administration has greenlit two rounds of dearness allowance (DA) for its workforce.
These two DA installments will be effective from January 2024 and July 2024. This means that not only will the DA be added to their future salaries, but employees will also receive a bumper arrears of more than two and a half years. Telangana employees have received a “Diwali” gift from the government even before Dussehra.
What’s the size of the dearness allowance boost, and when will employees benefit?
The dearness allowance has been increased by 3.64 percent from January 2024 and by 2.73 percent from July 2024. This means the total increase is more than 6 percent. For employees under the 2020 pay scale, the DA has been raised from 33.67 per cent to 37.31 per cent starting January 2024, and further increased to 40.04 per cent from July 2024.
Meanwhile, employees on the 2015 pay scale will see their DA climb from 73.34 percent to 78.06 percent initially, then to 81.72 percent from July 2024.
Employees will start seeing the increased DA reflected in their October 2026 salary. This payment will be deposited into their accounts on November 1.
DA Arrears will be distributed across 33 and 27 installments
Telangana’s workforce is also looking forward to receiving substantial DA arrears. When calculated from January 2024, they’ll get back pay covering more than two and a half years. The DA arrears spanning January 2024 through September 2026 will be distributed in 33 installments. The arrears covering July 2024 through September 2026 will be paid out in 27 installments. The government will deposit this amount in the General Provident Fund (GPF) account of the employees.
Additional expenditure of Rs 3,057 crore every year
Approving both installments of DA will also place a significant financial burden on the state government. The government will have to spend an additional Rs 3,057 crore annually. This includes an additional expenditure of about Rs 1,747 crore for the January 2024 DA installment and about Rs 1,310 crore for the July 2024 installment.
These employees will also get benefits
The benefits of the DA hike will not be limited to general government employees. Employees on UGC and AICTE pay scales will also benefit. Apart from this, many other categories including employees of district and divisional councils, employees working on regular pay scale in municipal bodies and full-time contingent employees will also get the benefit of these DA installments.