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What 3% DA hike means in monthly salary terms: Dussehra-Diwali gift for govt staff, explained
The move, which comes ahead of Dussehra and Diwali festivals, is the second time the DA has been hiked for central government employees in 2025.
The central government on Wednesday greenlit a 3 per cent increase in the dearness allowance for its employees, bringing the DA to 58 per cent.
The move, which comes ahead of Dussehra and Diwali festivals, is the second time the DA has been hiked for central government employees in 2025. It was last revised in March, when the employees saw a 2 per cent hike in the allowance.
The move will benefit 49.2 lakh employees and 68.7 lakh pensioners of the central government. State government usually follow suit. It will add a financial implication of ₹10,084 crore per year.
The pay change will be effective from July 1, 2025
What does 3 per cent increase come to?
The DA for central government employees is calculated based on the latest Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW).
- A 3 per cent increase in the dearness allowance for central government employees won't amount to much of a monthly salary hike for those with low basics salary component as it's a percentage of that. But it aligns the pay with the hike in prices of goods.
- For instance, the DA hike would add about ₹540 to the monthly income of an employee with a minimum basic salary of ₹18,000 under the 7th Pay Commission. The hike would make the total salary of the people on the minimum basic pay jump to ₹28,440.
- In another example, an employee with a basic salary of ₹60,000 will now receive ₹34,800 as DA, up from the ₹33,000 they were being paid after the March increase. So, it's not a huge increase, but a nice bump before Diwali.
- The pensioners who fall under the minimum pension category of ₹9,000 would receive an additional ₹270, bringing their total pension to ₹14,220 at the revised 58 per cent rate.
The Eighth Pay Commission, announced in January, will decide further revisions of salaries and allowances. However, an official notification about its members and terms of is awaited.
