President sanctions 60% DA effective January 1 2026
Business
Heads up if you work for the central government: your Dearness Allowance (DA) is getting a bump. Starting January 1, 2026, DA will go up from 58% to 60% of Basic Pay.
The President sanctioned the proposal dated 6 October 2025. It's a small but welcome boost to help offset rising living costs.
DA applicability and calculation rules
The increase applies to all central government employees, including those in civilian defense roles.
For Armed Forces and Railways staff, separate orders are on the way from their ministries.
Just so you know: DA is calculated on Basic Pay (as per the Seventh Pay Commission), not including any extras or special pay.
If your new DA amount has a fraction of 50 paise or more, it'll be rounded up; less than that gets dropped.