New Delhi, April 1 -- Much to the chagrin of central government employees and pensioners, no announcement on dearness allowance (DA) was made in February or March; it is now expected to happen this week.

Once the announcement is made, central government employees and pensioners would see an increase in their monthly emoluments.

The previous announcement pertaining to dearness allowance was made in October 2025 when the DA was raised to 58% from 55% of the basic pay with effect from 1 July 2025. Prior to that, the DA hike took place on 2 April 2025 when it was raised to 55% from 53%.

In the subsequent announcement, which is expected to happen in April 2026, the DA could be raised by another 3%, i.e., 61% of the basic pay.

(Source: doe....