It is Dussehra today (Tuesday, October 20, 2026), and the central government is yet to announce the dearness allowance (DA) hike applicable from July 1 for its employees. It didn’t announce the DA hike in its last two cabinet meetings on Wednesday this month. But expectations of the hike are high for employees as the government is set to hold its weekly cabinet meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, October 21, 2026). Can it announce the DA hike?

Manjeet Singh Patel, president, All India New Pension Scheme (AINPS), told ET Wealth Online that the DA hike can be announced in the upcoming cabinet meeting on Wednesday as it has already been quite late.

C Srikumar, secretary, All India Defence Employees’ Federation, a civilian defence employee body, said that the DA hike announcement looks imminent after the Wednesday meeting.

Also Read: 8th Pay Commission: Level 1 salary at Rs 47,160, Rs 54,000 or Rs 69,000? Check Level 1-5 estimates at different fitment factors

The current DA rate for central government employees is 60%. They will receive the hike as per the 12-month average retail inflation data (July 2025-June 2026). As per the average inflation, the estimated DA hike is 3%, which can take the DA rate to 63%.

The government announces the DA hike twice a year, based on 12-month average retail inflation data. For the January hike, the average inflation of January-December of the year is taken into account, while for the July DA hike, the average retail inflation of July of the previous year to June of the current year is considered.

However, the government doesn’t announce the DA hike in January and July. The government mostly makes announcements around festivals such as Holi, Dussehra or Diwali. But on many occasions, it announces the hike after these festivals.

What happened in the October 14 cabinet meeting?

Many central government employees expected the Centre to announce the DA hike at its October 14 meeting on Wednesday. However, the government announced the performance-linked bonus (PLB) for Railway employees and didn’t say anything on the DA.

Also Read: Postal employees’ annual bonus for 2025-26: Check how much regular staff and Gramin Dak Sevaks can get

On October 15, the central government also announced the Non-performance Linked Bonus (non-PLB) for employees but left out the DA hike decision.

Government employees’ protest for delay in DA hike

The Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, a prominent employees’ body, on October 16 also demonstrated a lunch-hour protest at workplaces to demand the DA hike announcement.

In its letter dated October 14 sent to the cabinet secretary, central government, the confederation said that the demonstration was to ask the government to immediately declare the due instalment of DA and dearness relief (DR) with effect from July 1, 2026, for employees and pensioners and the announcement of ad-hoc and PLB bonus for the financial year 2025-26.

While the government announced the PLB the next day, it has yet to announce the DA hike.

Also Read: Annual bonus of Rs 6,908 for central government employees: Who qualifies and who will be left out

Pensioners also waiting for DR increase

While employees have been waiting for the DA hike announcement, pensioners are also waiting for the DR hike. Pensioners get DR based on their basic pension.

How DA hike impacts salaries of government employees

With every DA hike, the gross salary of a central government employee increases. For example, at a 60% DA rate, the gross salary of a Level 7 employee, excluding other allowances, will be-

Rs 71,840= Rs 44,900 + 60% of Rs 44,900

But if the DA reaches 63%, it will increase to Rs 73,187, an increase of Rs 1,347 per month.

However, a 3% hike is an estimate as the real hike will depend on the government announcement.