New Delhi, July 27 -- A significant number of India's public service employees are set to benefit from their various state government's announcements on Dearness Allowance hikes. From the Centre, DA was hiked in April by 2% from 58% of basic pay to 69%, effective from 1 January this year.

The Centre usually updates DA biannually using data from the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPI), new announcements are made in March and October, with rollouts in January and July. The move is aimed at countering cost of living expenses for employees and pensioners amid rising inflation.

Close to 1 crore beneficiaries - about 50 lakh central government employees and nearly 65 lakh retired central government pensioners, including defence personnel a...