Centre approves 3% DA hike for central staff, taking it to 63% from July 1, 2026

The Union government has approved a 3% increase in dearness allowance (DA) for central government employees. The approval has been given under the Seventh Pay Commission. DA has risen from 60% to 63%, which will directly affect employees' monthly salaries. The new rates will apply from July 1, 2026.

The benefit will not go only to serving employees. Pensioners will also get the higher dearness allowance. An estimated 49 lakh central government employees and more than 68 lakh pensioners stand to gain directly. The increase is based on the formula set according to the Seventh Pay Commission's recommendations.

A rise in DA from 60% to 63% means employees will get an additional 3% of their basic salary as dearness allowance. The calculation differs for different basic salaries.

On a basic salary of Rs 18,000, the current DA (60%) is Rs 10,800, which will become Rs 11,340 at the new rate (63%), or Rs 540 more a month. On a basic salary of Rs 25,000, DA will go from Rs 15,000 to Rs 15,750, an additional Rs 750 a month.

On a basic salary of Rs 44,900, DA will rise from Rs 26,940 to Rs 28,287, or Rs 1,347 more a month. On a basic salary of Rs 47,600, DA at the new rate will be Rs 29,988, an increase of Rs 1,428 a month.

Put differently, an employee with a basic salary of Rs 18,000 will get an additional Rs 540 a month, while the DA of an employee with a basic salary of Rs 44,900 may go up by Rs 1,347 a month.

The government has also raised dearness allowance for those covered by other pay commissions. For those under the Sixth Pay Commission, DA has been raised from 262% to 269% (+7%). For those under the Fifth Pay Commission, it has gone from 483% to 497% (+14%). The government will spend Rs 10,016 crore on the overall DA increase.

There is also the question of arrears. The new DA is said to apply from July 1, 2026. If the government implements the increase from that date, eligible employees may also receive arrears of the difference from July. For example, for an employee with a basic salary of Rs 18,000, the monthly difference in DA is Rs 540. The difference for four months would come to Rs 2,160 and for five months Rs 2,700.