New Delhi, July 1 -- All central government employees are awaiting news of the Dearness Allowance (DA) hike effective from July 2026. The Labour Bureau has recently released the May 2026 All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW) data. This data will play a meaningful role in deciding DA revisions for central government employees.

The AICPI-IW rose by 0.9 points in May 2026 to 150.8, compared with 149.9 in April 2026, as per a Labour Bureau press release. The latest rise reflects changes in inflation trends and is bound to be considered for calculating the DA revision effective from 1 July 2026.

Even after this increase, the estimated DA hike continues to hover around 3% of the basic pay. The final revision of the ...