DA news: Here’s a look at the full list of states that have announced dearness allowance hikes in 2026
Implementing recommendation of the 7th central pay commission (CPC), dearness allowance (DA) the Centre hikes the component biannually using data from the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPI). More than 1 crore beneficiaries, comprising around 50 lakh central government employees and some 65 lakh pensioners, including defence and railway personnel and retirees, gain from DA and Dearness Relief (DR) hikes.
DA is a percentage of employees’ basic pay that aims to mitigate rising cost of living and inflation impact. Notably, announcement from the Centre come in March and October, with rollouts in January and July. The last hike was announced in April this year, when the Finance Ministry increased DA from 58% to 60% of basic salary, effective from 1 January 2026.
DA hikes announcements in 2026 — Full list of states
Following the Finance Ministry’s announcement, the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) announced revised DA and DR for workmen and officer employees across levels for the months of May, June and July 2026. It hiked basic salaries between ₹48,000 to ₹1,17,000 and DA from ₹435 to ₹1,050. Later, the Indian Railways also announced a 2% hike in DA and DR for staff and pensioners.
Here’s a look at the full list of DA hikes announced by states so far:
What is significance of DA hike?
DA is a component of the salary break-up for central and public sector employees, aimed at mitigating the rising cost of living. Notably, the basic salary also determines other components of compensation, such as provident fund contributions, pension, allowances, gratuity, and more.
Thus, higher DA, especially given DA merger demands, could lead to a substantial and automatic increase in overall pay and, consequently, in the other dependent allocations. Notably, employees and pensioners are expecting another hike from the Centre during Diwali year.
Meanwhile, DA revision is under discussion by the 8th central pay commission (CPC), which is expected to submit its final recommendations around 18 months after its constitution, latest by May 2027.
