Dearness allowance hike: No DA hike announcement by the Union Cabinet on April 8; check details

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, made several announcements related to various sectors of the economy. However, the Cabinet has yet to make any announcement on the much-awaited dearness allowance/dearness relief hike for central government employees and pensioners.

The central government provides DA/DR to its employees and pensioners as part of their pay package. Periodic DA/DR hikes help in countering the impact of inflation on the purchasing power of an employee's/retiree's salary/pension.

Based on the formula approved by the 7th Pay Commission for calculating DA hike, central government employees are expecting the government to increase their dearness allowance from the current 58% of Basic Salary to 60%.

While employees have been waiting for the DA hike announcement since January this year, their wait is getting longer. Usually, the DA hike for the January cycle is announced by the Government in March.

Even on Wednesday, when the Union Cabinet took several decisions, there was no announcement regarding DA.

Meanwhile, it is expected that the 60% DA could serve as the base DA for determining the fitment factor under the 8th Central Pay Commission.

What the Union Cabinet decided today?

The Union Cabinet approved the following proposals on April 8, 2026:

• Construction of 1200 MW Kalai-II Hydro Electric Project in Anjaw District of Arunachal Pradesh with an outlay of ₹14105.83 crore

• Construction of 1720 MW Kamala Hydro Electric Project in Kamle, Kra Daadi and Kurung Kumey Districts of Arunachal Pradesh with an outlay of ₹26,069.50 crore

• Revision in cost and investment in equity for HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL), Pachpadra, District - Balotra, Rajasthan

• Jaipur Metro Project Phase-2

• Nutrient-based Subsidy (NBS) rates for Kharif Season, 2026 (from 01.04.2026 to 30.09.2026) on Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers