Gandhinagar: Relief news has emerged for Gujarat’s government employees and pensioners ahead of Diwali. The state government has approved a 3 percent increase in the Dearness Allowance (DA) for its employees.
If this proposal is implemented, the DA for employees could rise from the current 60 percent to 63 percent, potentially benefiting millions of state government employees and pensioners. However, an official announcement regarding the increase and the date of implementation is awaited. The state government has decided to declare a public holiday on November 9, Monday.
In lieu of this holiday, government offices will remain open on November 28. This decision was made in the state government’s cabinet meeting, and the government has issued a circular providing official information. The DA could rise from 60 percent to 63 percent.
The Gujarat government had previously increased the DA by 2 percent under the seventh pay commission in May 2026, raising it from 58 percent to 60 percent. Now, with the proposed 3 percent increase, it could reach 63 percent. For example, if an employee’s basic salary is ₹30,000, they currently receive ₹18,000 as DA at 60 percent.
With the DA increasing to 63 percent, this amount will rise to ₹18,900, meaning the employee will receive an additional ₹900 each month. Approximately 4 lakh employees and 4.82 lakh pensioners are expected to benefit from this increase, according to initial figures released by the state government. This includes employees from the state government, Panchayat service, and other departments.
However, clear information regarding which employees and pensioners will benefit from the new proposal and the date of implementation will only be available after the official announcement. The Dearness Allowance (DA) is provided to employees to alleviate the impact of rising inflation, calculated as a percentage of the employee’s basic salary. Similarly, pensioners receive Dearness Relief (DR).
If the government implements this increase from July 2026, employees and pensioners may also receive arrears. However, this will only be confirmed after the official order is issued. earliest.