DA Hike: Ahead of Diwali, two additional state governments have raised the DA for their state employees. These states are Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh. Several other states had already increased DA and DR earlier. It is important to note that the central government also raised the dearness allowance by 3 percent last month.
Karnataka DA Hike raised by 2.5 percent
On Friday, 5 November, the state government increased the dearness allowance by 2.5 percent. This brings the total DA for state employees to 18 percent. The revised dearness allowance will be effective from 1 July.
Arunachal Pradesh DA hike by 3 percent
The state government has raised the DA and DR for its employees by 3 percent this time. As a result, state employees will now receive a 63 percent DA. This increase in dearness allowance is effective from 1 July 2026. Chief Minister Pema Khandu personally shared the update about the dearness allowance in a social media post.
This year the central government has increased DA by 5 percent
The central government revises the dearness allowance twice annually, once in January and again in July. In the January 2026 cycle, the central government raised DA by 2 percent. This year, DA was further increased by 3 percent in the July cycle, resulting in a total 63 percent dearness allowance for central government employees.
Several states have increased dearness allowance
Tamil Nadu was the first state to raise the dearness allowance (DA) for its employees. Subsequently, states such as Rajasthan, Haryana, and Chhattisgarh have also increased their DA and DR rates ahead of Diwali.