7th Pay Commission News: Central government employees finally got the good news on Wednesday on the dearness allowance front ahead of Diwali. The union cabinet approved a 3% raise in DA (dearness allowance) for central government employees and pensioners, bringing it to 53% of the basic pay.

In contrast, several states have given better DA hikes to their employees, with some increasing the key allowance by as much as 9%. So you must be wondering why there is so much disparity between states and centre in terms of DA hikes.

The 7th Central Pay Commission recommendations were implemented from January 1, 2016. Every time a new pay commission is set up (usually every 10 years), the Centre merges the DA with the basic pay of employees and starts from 0 and hikes DA twice a year in January and July.

Also read: 7th Pay Commission Update: Central govt employees, pensioners get 3 pc DA hike for July-Dec 2024

The 7th Pay Commission term has been an exception as the Centre suspended DA hikes for 18 months during the Covid pandemic. But apart from the three suspended hikes’ the dearness allowance of central employees has been raised twice a year since January 2026, taking the total to 53% of the basic pay.

Difference in DA hikes of Centre and states

So why is there a difference in percentage of DA hikes among states and also between Centre and states. As mentioned above, the Centre has already implemented the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, while some states are yet to shift from the 6th Pay Commission term. As they are still following the previous Pay Commission recommendations, they decide the quantum of hike based on their own calculation and mechanism. For example, Jharkhand government employees’ DA has reached 239% of the basic pay after the recent hike of 9%. Jharkhand is yet to shift from the 6th Pay commission.

As regards states which have implemented the 7th Pay Commission, they follow the Centre in announcing the DA hikes. Usually, it is seen that they lag behind the Centre. Like in the case of Chhattisgarh, state government employees have now received a 4% DA hike, taking the total percentage to 50% of their basic pay. While the Centre had announced a 4% DA hike in January for their employees, taking the total to 50%.

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Let’s take a look at the 5 states that have recently revised the DA for their employees.

Chhattisgarh

The Chhattisgarh government announced a 4% increase in DA for their employees, raising the total DA to 50%. The hike will be effective from October 1.

Odisha

The Odisha government too has approved a 4% hike in DA for state government staff who are receiving salaries based on the Revised Scale of Pay, 2017. This increment takes the DA from 46% to 50%, effective January 1, 2024.

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh government has also announced a 4% increase in DA for state government employees and pensioners. The state government has also announced that salaries and pensions of employees and pensioners will be credited on October 28 before Diwali.

Sikkim

Sikkim’s government has also increased DA by 4% for its employees. With this current hike, the DA has touched 50% of the basic pay for its employees.

Jharkhand

The state government has approved a 9% increase in the dearness allowance (DA) for its employees. State government employees are still receiving DA and other allowance based on the 6th Pay Commission recommendation. With a 9% hike in DA, now state government employees will receive DA at 239% of the basic pay.