Cabinet raises DA and DR for central staff and pensioners by 3 per cent to 63 per cent

Central government employees and pensioners have received good news just before Diwali. The Centre has formally approved a 3 per cent increase in dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR).

At a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, development and welfare packages worth a total of Rs 29,267 crore were cleared. Under this decision, employees' salaries and pensioners' pensions are set to rise.

Under the Seventh Pay Commission, DA has been raised by 3 per cent, from 60 per cent to 63 per cent. The increased rates will be treated as effective from July 1, 2026.

For those covered by the Sixth Pay Commission, DA has gone up from 262 per cent to 269 per cent, an increase of 7 per cent. Under the Fifth Pay Commission, it has risen from 483 per cent to 497 per cent, an increase of 14 per cent.

The government will spend Rs 10,016 crore on the entire increase. About 49 lakh central government employees and more than 68 lakh pensioners will benefit directly, meaning over one crore people in all. The entire increase will follow a formula fixed on the basis of the Seventh Pay Commission's recommendations.

Dearness allowance is an additional amount paid to government employees and pensioners. It is meant to protect them from the effects of rising prices and help them maintain their standard of living.

The question now being raised is whether the increased amount will be added to the November salary. The increase applies to rates effective from July 1, 2026, but the details of the Cabinet decision do not say when or how the money will be paid in the November salary.

Overall, the Cabinet decision has raised the DA rate for those covered by the Seventh, Sixth and Fifth Pay Commissions. For those under the Seventh Pay Commission it has gone from 60 per cent to 63 per cent, while for the other two it has reached the rates stated above.