New Delhi, June 5 -- Dearness Allowance (DA) is a salary component intended to address inflationary pressures for central government employees, public sector staff, defence personnel, bank employees, and pensioners.

The Centre's 8th pay commission (8th CPC) is conducting meetings with employee representative groups, unions and stakeholders to gather recommendations on pay hikes, allowances, salary structure, and more. Constituted every 10 years, the panel is expected to make significant decisions impacting salaries of central government employees and pensioners, including railways and defence staff, by mid-2027.

As many as 50 lakh central government employees, including defence personnel, and around 65 lakh retired central government pe...