DA Hike July 2026: Cabinet Yet to Approve 63% DA — When It Will Come and Your Arrears

Central Government employees and pensioners are still waiting for the Dearness Allowance (DA) hike due from 1 July 2026. Labour Bureau price data points to a 3-point rise, from 60% to 63% of basic pay, but as of 13 October 2026 the Union Cabinet has not approved it.

When it comes, the hike will reach about 50 lakh employees and 68 lakh pensioners, going by the figures the government gave for the January 2026 instalment. Pensioners get the same rise as Dearness Relief (DR).

The 63% figure itself is not in doubt. The last index that counts, June 2026, was released on 31 July. What is pending is only the Cabinet decision and the order that follows it.

Why has the July 2026 DA hike not been announced yet?

It is not late by the usual calendar. In each of the last three years, the DA due from July was cleared by the Cabinet in October.

Dussehra falls on 20 October and Diwali on 8 November this year. The government often clears the July DA before the festival season, so an announcement in the coming weeks would fit the pattern. Until the order is out, treat 63% as the expected rate, not the official one.

How is the 63% DA worked out?

DA under the 7th Pay Commission follows a fixed formula based on the All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), which the Labour Bureau publishes every month.

The 12-month average is 148.65. The formula converts it to the old 2001 base by multiplying by 2.88, which gives 428.11. Then:

DA = (428.11 − 261.42) ÷ 261.42 × 100 = 63.76%

The government ignores the fraction, so DA from July 2026 comes to 63%. For how the earlier months built up to this, see our report on DA/DR at 63% from July 2026.

How much more will you get at each pay level?

DA is paid on basic pay only. Here is the gain at the entry pay of each level.

For any other basic pay, multiply it by 0.03 to get the monthly gain.

Worked example: a Level 6 employee with a basic pay of Rs 35,400 gets Rs 1,062 more a month. If the hike is paid with the October salary, the arrears for July, August and September come to Rs 3,186. If it slips to the November salary, October is added and the arrears become Rs 4,248.

What do pensioners get?

Dearness Relief rises by the same 3 points, from 60% to 63% of basic pension, for central government pensioners and family pensioners.

On the minimum pension of Rs 9,000, DR goes up from Rs 5,400 to Rs 5,670, or Rs 270 more a month. On a basic pension of Rs 30,000, the gain is Rs 900 a month. Arrears from July are paid the same way as for serving staff.

When will the money reach your account?

Three steps follow the Cabinet decision:

1. The Department of Expenditure issues the order for employees, and the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare issues the order for pensioners.
2. Ministries, pay offices and pension-disbursing banks apply the new rate.
3. The revised DA, with arrears from 1 July, is paid with the next salary or pension after the orders.

If the orders reach pay offices in time, the new DA and the arrears come with the October salary. If the decision comes late in October, the payment moves to the November salary, with one more month of arrears.

Does the 8th Pay Commission change any of this?

No. Until the 8th Pay Commission’s recommendations are accepted and notified, DA continues under the 7th CPC formula, with a revision every January and July. The commission has not submitted its report yet, as the government told Parliament in August. See 8th CPC latest news for where that stands.

The next revision, due from January 2027, will be based on the CPI-IW from July to December 2026.