DA Hike Update: Will Govt Announce 2% Increase Before Holi? Read Details

DA Hike: The Ministry of Labour has released the AICPI-IW index for 2025. Based on this, the DA or Dearness Allowance for government employees might go up by 2 percent. That's what the DA calculator suggests.  

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Good news before Holi!

Central government employees might get good news before Holi. Not just current, but also retired central government employees, might get good news from the Modi government before the Holi festival. Such are the rumors in the national capital.

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2% DA Increase

The central government might increase the DA by 2% for its employees. It could also increase the Dearness Relief or DR at the same rate for retirees. The central government might make this announcement before March.

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Index Released

The Labour Ministry recently released the AICPI-IW index for December 2025. It's believed that central government employees might get a 2% DA or DR hike. They'll get this good news before Holi, and it will be effective from January.

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DA under which Pay Commission?

The term of the 7th Pay Commission ended on Dec 31, 2025. But the 8th Pay Commission isn't yet in effect. Until its recommendations are implemented, employees will get DA under the 7th Pay Commission. Retirees will also get DA at the same rate.

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What is AICPI-IW?

AICPI-IW or All India Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers is an index. It reflects changes in the prices of essential goods. The Labour Ministry releases it monthly. The central government determines DA based on the 12-month average of this index.

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What will be the DA this time?

In Dec 2025, the AICPI-IW was 148.2. The 12-month average is 145.54. The calculated DA is about 60.33%. With the current DA at 58%, a 2% hike is possible.

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Previous Increase

Based on this index in June 2025, the central government had increased the DA for its employees by 3% in October of that year. At that time, employees started getting a total DA of 58%. Now, they are hoping for a 2% DA increase.

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When is the official announcement?

The central government usually announces the January DA in March. So, it's expected that the announcement could come at the end of February or early March. Holi is on March 4th. The DA might be announced before that.

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Who will benefit?

Not just employees, but pensioners will also benefit from the central government's DA hike. For pensioners, it's called Dearness Relief (DR). DR also increases at the same rate as DA. So, over 1 crore people will benefit in total.

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How much will the salary increase?

If the central government increases DA by 2%, those with a basic salary of ₹20,000 per month will see a ₹400 increase.

For a ₹30,000 salary, the increase will be ₹600. For those with a ₹1 lakh salary, it will increase by ₹2,000.