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DA Rates: Every 7th CPC Dearness Allowance Rate, 2016 to 2026

Dearness Allowance for central government employees is 63% of basic pay from 1 July 2026, approved by the Cabinet on 28 October 2026. Every rate since 2016, each with its order.

DA for central government employees is 63% of basic pay from 1 July 2026. The Cabinet approved the rise from 60% on 28 October 2026 (Cabinet decision); the Finance Ministry’s order for it is to follow on its list of DA orders. The months from July are usually paid as arrears.

DA for central government employees under the 7th CPC (DR for pensioners is the same per cent)
FromDAOrder
1 July 202663%Cabinet decision, 28 October 2026 (the Finance Ministry’s order is to follow)
1 January 202660%OM No. 1/1(i)/2026-E.II(B), 22 April 2026
1 July 202558%OM No. 1/4(i)/2025-E.II(B), 6 October 2025
1 January 202555%OM No. 1/1(1)/2025-E.II(B), 2 April 2025
1 July 202453%OM No. 1/5/2024-E.II(B), 21 October 2024
1 January 202450%OM No. 1/1/2024-E-II(B), 12 March 2024
1 July 202346%OM No. 1/4/2023-E-II(B), 20 October 2023
1 January 202342%OM No. 1/1/2023-E-II(B), 3 April 2023
1 July 202238%OM No. 1/3/2022-E-II(B), 3 October 2022
1 January 202234%OM No. 1/2/2022-E-II(B), 31 March 2022
1 July 202131% (28% at first, then 31%)OM No. 1/1/2020-E-II(B), 20 July 2021 (28%); OM No. 1/4/2021-E-II(B), 25 October 2021 (31%)
1 January 202017% (rises frozen, never paid, until 30 June 2021)OM No. 1/1/2020-E-II(B), 23 April 2020
1 July 201917%OM No. 1/3/2019-E-II(B), 14 October 2019
1 January 201912%OM No. 1/1/2019-E-II(B), 27 February 2019
1 July 20189%OM No. 1/2/2018-E-II(B), 7 September 2018
1 January 20187%OM No. 1/1/2018-E-II(B), 15 March 2018
1 July 20175%OM No. 1/9/2017-E-II(B), 20 September 2017
1 January 20174%OM No. 1/3/2017-E.II(B), 30 March 2017
1 July 20162%OM No. 1/2/2016-E.II(B), 4 November 2016
1 January 20160% (DA started again)OM No. 1/2/2016-E.II(B), 4 November 2016

How DA is set

DA is revised twice a year, from 1 January and 1 July, based on the rise in the All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (AICPI-IW), averaged over 12 months (Cabinet, 28 September 2022; Lok Sabha, 1 December 2025). Each rise is usually announced a few months after the date it applies from, and the months in between are paid as arrears.

For civilian employees, DA is a share of basic pay only: the pay in your Level and Cell, without special pay or allowances. The armed forces’ DA follows Ministry of Defence orders. The orders call it “a distinct element of remuneration”, not pay. The amount is rounded to the nearest rupee.

DR for pensioners

Dearness Relief (DR) for central government pensioners rises at the same times by the same per cent, under orders of the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare. DR is 63% from 1 July 2026 (Cabinet decision of 28 October 2026), after 60% from 1 January 2026 (DR order of 24 April 2026), and it is rounded up to the next rupee.

The 2020–21 freeze

During COVID-19, the rises due from 1 January 2020, 1 July 2020 and 1 January 2021 were not paid, and no arrears were paid for that time (order of 23 April 2020). DA stayed at 17% until 30 June 2021. It became 28% from 1 July 2021 and was then raised to 31% from the same date.

What happened to DA under the last pay commission

In 2016, DA on the 6th Pay Commission’s pay had reached 125% (order of 7 April 2016). The new basic pay took it in: “Dearness Allowance in the revised pay structure shall be zero from 01.01.2016” (order of 4 November 2016). The next rise, 2% from 1 July 2016, was on the new basic pay. The Government has said that no proposal to merge today’s DA with basic pay is under consideration (Lok Sabha, 1 December 2025).

Today: DA is 63%, so basic pay plus DA is 1.63 times basic pay. On ₹44,900 that is ₹44,900 + ₹28,287 = ₹73,187. If DA started again at 0, a factor of 1.63 would give ₹73,187: no rise at all. A factor of 2.57 would give ₹1,15,393, a real rise of 57.7%.

Bars of the DA rate for central government employees from January 2016 to July 2026: 0% from January 2016, 2% from July 2016, 4% from January 2017, 5% from July 2017, 7% from January 2018, 9% from July 2018, 12% from January 2019, 17% from July 2019, 17% from January 2020, 31% from July 2021, 34% from January 2022, 38% from July 2022, 42% from January 2023, 46% from July 2023, 50% from January 2024, 53% from July 2024, 55% from January 2025, 58% from July 2025, 60% from January 2026 and 63% from July 2026
DA under the 7th CPC, every step from 0% in January 2016 to 63% from July 2026.

Updated

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