DA hike: Arunachal Pradesh increases Dearness Allowance by 2% for state government employees — All we know

Dearness Allowance hike: The government of Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday (6 May), hiked dearness allowance and dearness relief for its employees by 2%, raising DA & DR rate to 60 per cent of basic pay and pension respectively, PTI reported.

The DA and DR increases are effective from 1 January 2026, according to an official statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). The move comes after the Centre last month hiked DA rates by 2%, to 60% of basic pay for central government employees and pensioners.

Who benefits from Arunachal's DA, DR rate hike?

The report added that the increased DA will be implemented for 69,248 regular employees — All India Service Officers serving under the Arunachal Pradesh government, central government employees on deputation to the state government, and all regular state government employees.

Further, the enhanced DR will cover 40,477 individual and family pensioners across the state.

Arunachal DA, DR hike: What's the financial situation?

Financial burden on the exchequer for the DA, DR hike will cost an estimated ₹100.54 crore for the state government, the report added.

Further, arrears dues for the January to April 2026 period will be paid to employees and pensioners in cash. As per the report, the total financial implication of arrears for the state is likely to be around ₹33.51 crore.

How will the enhanced DA, DR be paid?

The enhanced DA and DR from May 2026 onwards will be paid along with the monthly salary and pension, the CMO statement added.

In a statement in the release, Chief Minister Pema Khandu congratulating state government employees on the hike and expressed optimism that they would in turn give their best to the welfare of people.

What is DA? How much has it increased in 7th CPC?

Earlier this month, the Indian Banks Association (IBA) also announced DA hike for bank employees for the months of May, June and July 2026. The hikes for workmen and officer employees will see increases between ₹435-1,050 for basic salaries ranging from ₹48,000-1,17,000.

DA is a percentage of an employees' basic salary aimed at supporting households with increased inflation. It is revised twice a year by the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPI) to match cost-of-living. New announcements generally occur in early March and October, with rollouts in January and July.

Notably, the 2% DA hike is calculated on the 12-month average as per the method prescribed by the AICPI under the 7th Pay Commission. Under this, since 2021, there have been 10 hikes, with the highest being 11% in July 2021. The past two hikes have been for 2% and 3% respectively, for January and July 2025.

(With inputs from PTI)

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