8th Pay Commission: Big news for central government employees. The Labor Bureau released the All India Consumer Price Index–Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW) figure for December 2025 at 148.2.
Add informalnewz.com as a Preferred Source
8th Pay Commission: Big news for central government employees. The Labor Bureau has released the All India Consumer Price Index–Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW) figure of 148.2 for December 2025. Based on this, a 2% increase in dearness allowance (DA) is almost certain from January 2026. If this happens, the current rate of 58% will increase to 60%. Millions of central government employees and pensioners are now just waiting for the official announcement.
Announcement Possible Before Holi
The biggest question is whether the government can announce this before Holi. This year, Holi is on March 3, 2026. Traditionally, the government increases DA twice a year (January and July), but announcements are often made in March and September/October. Sometimes, announcements are made before major festivals like Holi or Diwali, so that employees can get relief before the festival. However, this is not always possible.
For example, in 2025, Holi was on March 14, but the DA increase was announced on March 28. The second increase of the year was announced on October 1, 2025, while Diwali fell on October 20. This means that an announcement before the festival is possible, but there is no fixed date. Manjeet Singh Patel, National President of the All India NPS Employees Federation, believes that this time the government may make the announcement before Holi, although a formal order could also come in April.
Understand with an example
Let’s understand why DA is so important with an example. Under the 7th Pay Commission, the basic salary of an entry-level Group D employee is ₹18,000, effective January 1, 2016. The 7th Pay Commission ended on December 31, 2025, and the 8th Pay Commission may take some time to be implemented. Consequently, employees’ basic salaries will remain stable for now, but DA will increase every six months, resulting in an increase in total salary.
If 58% DA is paid on a basic salary of ₹18,000, the DA amount is ₹10,440, resulting in a total salary of ₹28,440. Now, if DA is increased to 60%, it will be ₹10,800, making basic and DA combined ₹28,800. Additionally, there’s a separate House Rent Allowance (HRA) and an annual increment of 3%. Senior employees also get many other allowances, which have a big impact on the total salary.
What is the calculation?
DA is calculated based on the 12-month AICPI-IW average. The 12-month average through December 2025 has been 145.54. A factor of 2.88 is applied to compare the 2016 base year figure with the 2001 base year. According to the established formula, DA is approximately 60.33%. The government usually makes announcements in round figures, so this figure is assumed to be 60%. This means that DA is almost certain to increase from 58% to 60% from January 2026—all eyes are now fixed on the government’s official order.
