Dearness Allowance, June 12 -- The 8th pay commission is conducting meetings with various employee representative groups, unions and stakeholders to gather data before making its recommendations on allowances and salary hikes for central government employees and pensioners, including railways and defence staff.

Constituted every 10 years, the latest panel is expected to announce its decisions by mid-2027. At least 1 crore beneficiaries - including around 50 lakh employees and about 65 lakh pensioners are looking forward to hike in dearness allowance (DA), dearness relief (DR) and fitment factor.

Today we explore why DA / DR and fitment factor are significant when it comes to determining how much salaries and pensions could increase unde...