DA hike: Can govt announce it tomorrow?

Dussehra is being celebrated today, Tuesday, October 20, 2026, but the central government has not yet announced the dearness allowance (DA) hike applicable from July 1 for its employees. The government did not make any DA hike announcement during its last two cabinet meetings this month. Nevertheless, there is high anticipation for the hike as the government is scheduled to hold its weekly cabinet meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

Manjeet Singh Patel, president of the All India New Pension Scheme (AINPS), stated that the DA hike can possibly be announced in the upcoming cabinet meeting as it has been delayed for quite some time. C Srikumar, secretary of the All India Defence Employees’ Federation, a civilian defense employee body, believes the announcement is imminent after the Wednesday meeting.

The present DA rate for central government employees stands at 60%, and they will receive the hike based on the 12-month average retail inflation data from July 2025 to June 2026. According to this data, the estimated DA hike is 3%, which could raise the DA rate to 63%.

The government typically announces DA hikes twice a year, based on the 12-month average retail inflation data. The January DA hike considers the average inflation from January to December of the previous year, while the July DA hike uses the average retail inflation from July of the prior year to June of the current year. However, the government usually announces the hike around festivals like Holi, Dussehra, or Diwali, and sometimes it occurs after these festivals.

During the October 14 cabinet meeting on Wednesday, many central government employees expected the Centre to announce the DA hike. However, the government decided to announce the performance-linked bonus (PLB) for railway employees and didn't mention anything regarding the DA hike.

On October 15, the central government announced the Non-performance Linked Bonus (non-PLB) for employees, but the DA hike decision was not included. The Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, a prominent employees' body, staged a lunch-hour protest at workplaces on October 16 to demand the DA hike announcement.

In a letter to the cabinet secretary dated October 14, the confederation asked the government to immediately declare the due installment of DA and dearness relief (DR) with effect from July 1, 2026, for employees and pensioners, and also to announce the ad-hoc and PLB bonus for the financial year 2025-26.