Dearness allowance hike: Is it possible before Holi 2026? What 2022–2025 DA announcements show

If you are a central government employee, you are most likely eagerly waiting for the first dearness allowance (DA) hike announcement of the year 2026. As the Holi festival on March 3, 2026 approaches, you may come across various reports claiming that the DA hike could be announced before the festival of colours.

While no one except the government actually knows when the DA hike for January 2026 will be announced, we looked at the first DA hike announcement dates of the last four years to understand whether an announcement before Holi is possible. We compared the calendar date of Holi in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2022 with the date of the official press releases issued by the Government's Press Information Bureau (PIB) in those years.

Generally, the PIB releases an official statement of the DA hike after the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, decides in this regard.

Interestingly, we found that the DA hike was announced before Holi only once in the last four years. In 2024, the Holi festival was on March 25, while PIB's DA hike statement was released early on March 7. In the remaining three years, the PIB released the statement on the DA hike decision only after Holi.

The above table shows that DA hike announcement is possible both before and after Holi.

How much hike is expected?

Along with the DA hike for central government employees, the government is also expected to announce dearness relief (DR) for central government pensioners.

Both DA and DR hike decisions are taken based on the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.