Central Govt Employees DA Hike: 1 crore employees and pensioners waiting for increase in DA, why is there delay? Know the opinion of experts

New Delhi: The month of April is full of expectations and a little wait for about 45 lakh central employees and more than 60 lakh pensioners of the country. The announcement of increase in Dearness Allowance (DA), which is usually made by the last week of March, has been delayed by more than two weeks this time. Employees were hoping that the April salary would include the increased DA and the arrears from January 2026 till now, but no official announcement has been made by the government yet. Employee unions wrote a letter to the Finance Ministry. Dissatisfaction is increasing among the employee organizations regarding the delay in DA. Many organizations like All India NPS Employees Federation and Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers have written a letter to the Finance Ministry, demanding clarification on the situation. “The cabinet meeting is held every Wednesday, but the government has neither announced the increase in DA till now nor given the reason for the delay. Every year, the announcement was made by the end of March and the arrears were received in the first week of April.” – Manjit Singh Patel, President, All India NPS Employees Federation Why is there delay? Experts gave 3 big reasons: Financial experts believe that there is no negative intention behind this delay, but there may be some technical and administrative processes: Framework of 8th Pay Commission: According to Bank Bazaar CEO Adil Shetty, the government is currently preparing to move towards the framework of the 8th Pay Commission. Coordination between the new pay structure and inflation data is taking time at the administrative level. Fiscal Discipline: The government is trying to strike a balance between the demand for dearness allowance and the country’s budget. In the pre-election environment, financial announcements are being finalized very thoughtfully. Data Alignment: The time taken in updation of economic data required for the 2026 cycle can also be a major reason. Will DA be merged with basic pay? Employee organizations have been demanding for a long time that when DA crosses the 50% limit, it should be merged into basic pay. Let us tell you that in July 2025, DA was increased from 54% to 58%. However, the Central Government has already clarified that at present there is no proposal under consideration to merge DA with Basic Pay. Will arrears be received in April salary? If the government announces an increase in DA in the next few days (which is possible by 4%), then the employees can get the outstanding arrears for the months of January, February and March along with the April salary. Conclusion: At present, the ball is in the government’s court. Experts say that the announcement of increase in DA is just a matter of a few days, because it is a regular process. As soon as it gets the green signal from the cabinet, a notification will be issued.