DA Hike Latest News: Before the implementation of the Eighth Pay Commission recommendations, the government may increase the DA/DR of central government employees and pensioners in January. This time, it is expected that the government may increase the DA to 60 percent.
Add informalnewz.com as a Preferred Source
DA Hike January 2026: Central government employees and pensioners will soon benefit from dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR). Inflation data for November 2025 clearly indicates that DA will increase from 58% to 60% from January 2026. This 2% increase will be minor for millions of employees, but it is considered significant. On December 31, 2025, the Labor Bureau of the Labor Ministry released the All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW) for November 2025. This index increased by 0.5 points to 148.2.
According to the 7th Pay Commission formula, DA is calculated by comparing the average index of the previous 12 months (2016=100 base) with the base index of 261.42. As of November, DA reached 59.93%, which is very close to 60%. Let’s see how DA has increased over the last six months. This increase gives hope that DA may reach 60% this time.
> July 2025: 58.53%
> August 2025: 58.94%
> September 2025: 59.29%
> October 2025: 59.58%
> November 2025: 59.93%
The December 2025 index has not yet been released, but it is expected that it could rise to over 60%. In fact, DA is declared by the government in integers. Therefore, even 60.99% is considered 60%. Therefore, a 2% increase is considered certain this time.
Why is the January increase significant?
The 8th Pay Commission period begins on January 1, 2026. When the new Pay Commission is implemented, the old DA is merged into the basic salary, and DA starts at 0. Therefore, this last DA (60%) under the 7th Commission is important. It will act as a buffer during discussions on the fitment factor and salary revision in the 8th Commission.
What will employees benefit from?
The 2% DA increase will slightly increase employees’ monthly take-home salary. Pensioners will also receive higher pensions. This relief will be provided by the government to address the pressures of inflation. Unless the December figures suddenly drop, a 60% DA increase is guaranteed. This is the most closely watched DA increase in recent years.
Read More: Viral Video: Elephant did such a special ‘namaskar’ that the video went viral.
