New Delhi, Sept. 13 -- Updated biannually using data from the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPI), dearness allowance (DA) is a percentage of employees' basic pay that aims to mitigate the inflation impact and rising cost of living.

New announcements usually come in March and October, with rollouts in January and July. The last hike was announced in April this year, when the Finance Ministry increased DA from 58% to 60% of basic salary, effective from 1 January 2026.

Over 1 crore beneficiaries, comprising some 50 lakh central government employees and about 65 lakh pensioners, including defence and railway personnel and retirees, gain from an increase in DA and Dearness Relief (DR), respectively.

Following the Finance Ministry's anno...