**Summary of Cabinet Approval for Additional Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief**
**Subject:** Approval of additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) for Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners.
**Issuing Authority:** Ministry of Finance, Union Cabinet (chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi).
**Key Provisions and Metrics:**
* **Rate of Increase:** An additional 2% increase over the existing rate of 58% of Basic Pay/Pension.
* **Effective Date:** January 1, 2026 (w.e.f. 01.01.2026).
* **Objective:** To provide compensation against the rising cost of living and price increases.
* **Financial Impact:** The combined annual cost to the exchequer for both DA and DR is estimated at Rs. 6,791.24 crore.
* **Beneficiaries:**
* Approximately 50.46 lakh Central Government employees.
* Approximately 68.27 lakh pensioners.
**Regulatory Framework:**
The increase is calculated in accordance with the established formula based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.
**Administrative Details:**
* **Posted Date:** April 18, 2026
* **Location:** PIB Delhi
* **Release ID:** 2253245
Key Entities Referenced
Dearness Allowance (DA): A compensatory allowance paid to Central Government employees to mitigate the impact of inflation and price rise.
Dearness Relief (DR): A periodic payment granted to pensioners to offset the increase in the cost of living.
7th Central Pay Commission: The commission whose recommendations provide the accepted formula for calculating periodic adjustments to DA and DR.
Ministry of Finance
Cabinet approves additional instalment of
Dearness Allowance to Central Government
employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to
pensioners w.e.f. 01.01.2026
Posted On: 18 APR 2026 3:14PM by PIB Delhi
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved to release an
additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief
(DR) to pensioners w.e.f. 01.01.2026 representing an increase of 2% over the existing rate of 58% of the
Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate against price rise.
The combined impact on the exchequer on account of increase in both Dearness Allowance and Dearness
Relief would be Rs.6791.24 crore per annum. This will benefit about 50.46 lakh Central Government
employees and 68.27 lakh pensioners.
This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the
7th Central Pay Commission.
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MJPS
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