Uttarakhand Government increases Dearness Allowance for state employees by 3 per cent

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday approved a 3 per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees. Due to this decision, the DA for state employees has increased from 60 per cent to 63 per cent. This hike will come into effect from July 1, 2026.

According to an NDTV report, the Chief Minister's Office stated that the Government of India had increased the DA rate by 3 per cent to 63 per cent for employees receiving salaries under the 7th Central Pay Commission from July 1, 2026. Following this decision of the Central Government, the Chief Minister approved the proposal to provide state employees with a Dearness Allowance on par with the Central Government.

The benefit of this decision is not limited only to state government employees, but will also extend to eligible employees of local bodies, aided educational institutions, state universities, technical educational institutions, and those receiving salaries under the UGC pay scale.

Following the Chief Minister's approval, the differential amount of Dearness Allowance for the period from July 1, 2026, to October 31, 2026, will be paid to eligible employees as cash arrears.

This increase comes after the Central Government announced a 3 per cent hike in DA for its employees, raising the rate from 60 per cent to 63 per cent. On October 28, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved an additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) for Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners to provide relief against rising prices.

Approximately 48.54 lakh Central Government employees and 68.71 lakh pensioners across the country will benefit from this revision by the Central Government. According to the Central Government, this increase in DA and DR will lead to an additional annual financial burden of ₹10,016.10 crore on the government's expenditure.

This additional installment of Dearness Allowance and Relief has been approved according to the accepted formula based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission. Generally, Dearness Allowance is provided to serving government employees to mitigate the impact of inflation on their cost of living.

On the other hand, according to a report by The Hindu, the Karnataka government has also increased the Dearness Allowance for its state government employees as a Diwali bonus. Karnataka has increased the DA by 2.25 percentage points with retrospective effect from July 2026. According to a notification issued on Thursday, November 5, 2026, the DA for Karnataka state government employees will increase from the current 15.75 per cent to 18 per cent of their basic pay. This increase will be effective from July 1, 2026. According to the notification, pensioners and family pensioners will also receive the benefit of this increase.