Dearness allowance hike: No announcement yet by the central govt; DA remains at 58%

DA hike news March 2026: The Union Cabinet has not yet announced any hike in dearness allowance for central government employees.

Union Minister Ashwani Vaishnav did not announce any decision related to DA hike while briefing media after the Union Cabinet's meeting today, March 25, 2026.

DA hike with effect from January 1, 2026 is due for central government employees and pensioners.

Earlier, it was expected that the government would announce the DA hike decision after the Union Cabinet's meeting on March 25.

Dearness allowance is revised biannually based on the AICPI-IW data as per the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. The first revision is generally implemented with effect from January 1, while the second revised rate is implemented from July 1.

In the past, the government has announced the DA hike effective from January 1 in the month of March. However, no announcement has been made so far this year.

DA helps protect the real wages of government employees and pensioners against the impact of inflation. The existing system aims to ensure that increases in the cost of living are periodically neutralized with a DA hike.

How much hike is expected?

As DA is expected to reach 60% of basic pay, the minimum fitment factor that the 8th CPC could recommend is likely to be around 1.60.