DA Hike: Central employees and pensioners are waiting for the increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for July 2026. According to many media reports, this time DA is expected to increase by 3 percent. If the government approves it, DA will increase from the current 60% to 63%. This increase will be considered effective from July 1, 2026. However, its official announcement has not been made yet by the government.
How is DA calculated?
The DA calculation for July 2026 has been based on the data of CPI-IW i.e. Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers from January to June 2026. CPI-IW for June 2026 was 151.9. Based on these figures, DA works out to be around 63.75%, but as per the rules, employees are expected to get 63% DA. In such a situation, employees and pensioners can get a benefit of 3 percent.
Employees’ salaries will be affected
The increase in DA will have a direct impact on the salaries of employees. For example, if the basic salary of an employee is Rs 50,000, then currently at 60% DA, he gets Rs 30,000 DA. If DA is 63%, it will increase to Rs 31,500. That means you will get Rs 1,500 more as DA every month. Similarly, there will be a monthly increase of Rs 540 on a basic salary of Rs 18,000 and Rs 3,000 on a basic salary of Rs 1 lakh.
The new rate is expected to be implemented from July 1, 2026.
The new rate of DA is expected to be implemented from July 1, 2026. If the government announces it later, then employees may get arrears from July till the month in which the increased DA is received. For example, if increased DA is received in October, then arrears of July, August and September may also be received. However, payment of arrears will depend on the final order and procedure of the government.
Currently getting 60% DA
At present, central employees and pensioners are getting 60% DA/DR, which was increased in January 2026. Now the official decision of the government on the increase in July is awaited. At the same time, the new CPI-IW data of July and August 2026 will be useful in calculating the next DA increase i.e. January 2027. Therefore, for now the employees will have to wait for the official announcement of the possible increase of 63% DA.
Source: www.livehindustan.com
