The Cabinet on Saturday approved a 2% hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for central government employees, providing an increase in take‑home pay amid rising living costs, sources told NDTV. The decision comes at a time when pressure is mounting from employee unions for a comprehensive revamp of pay structures under the proposed 8th Pay Commission.
In a memorandum submitted to the government, the National Council–Joint Consultative Machinery (NC‑JCM) has called for a substantial upward revision in salaries, seeking a fitment factor of 3.83. If the demand is accepted, the minimum basic pay could rise sharply from the current Rs 18,000 to about Rs 69,000, representing a major overhaul of the existing pay framework.
Earlier, The Confederation of Central Government Employees & Workers (CCGEW) had written a letter addressed to the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressING concern over the delay in announcing the next DA hike. The organisation pointed out that while the government had last revised DA in October 2025, effective from July 2025, employees have been waiting for the subsequent revision since January 2026.
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Their main demand is that the government should immediately announce the pending DA/DR hike effective from Jan. 1, 2026, for both central government employees and pensioners. Because the DA revision is pending, pensioners are also not getting the Dearness Relief (DR), which is linked to DA.
The government usually revises the DA twice a year to adjust salaries and pensions for inflation. Since the 7th Pay Commission started on January 1, 2016, such delays in announcements have not happened for this long before.
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