Dearness Allowance Increase Expected Ahead of Holi!
DA Likely to Rise Before Holi, Central Employees May Get 2% Hike!: Central government employees and pensioners may get good news before Holi. The government is expected to announce a 2% increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for January 2026. The official announcement is likely in March, ahead of Holi, after the release of AICPI-IW data.
Even though the 7th Pay Commission ended on December 31, 2025, DA will continue to be calculated on the 7th Pay Commission basic pay until the 8th Pay Commission is implemented. This means employees and pensioners will keep getting DA benefits.
DA is given to offset the impact of inflation and is revised twice a year, in January and July. It is based on the All India Consumer Price Index–Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW) released by the Labour Bureau.
The December 2025 AICPI-IW figure stood at 148.2. Based on the 12-month average, DA works out to around 60.33%, which the government may round to 60%. At present, DA is 58%, so a 2% hike is expected.
Earlier, in October 2025, the government raised DA by 3%, from 55% to 58%. This time, due to weaker data, the increase is likely to be smaller.
A 2% DA hike will increase monthly salaries directly. For example, an employee with a ₹20,000 basic salary may get about ₹400 more per month, while someone with ₹50,000 basic pay may get ₹1,000 extra. Pensioners will also get the same benefit through DR.
If announced before Holi, the DA hike will bring relief to millions of employees and pensioners ahead of the festival.
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