New Delhi, Sept. 28 -- Implementing recommendation of the 7th central pay commission (CPC), dearness allowance (DA) the Centre hikes the component biannually using data from the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPI). More than 1 crore beneficiaries, comprising around 50 lakh central government employees and some 65 lakh pensioners, including defence and railway personnel and retirees, gain from DA and Dearness Relief (DR) hikes.

DA is a percentage of employees' basic pay that aims to mitigate rising cost of living and inflation impact. Notably, announcement from the Centre 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% o...