Dearness Allowance calculator
Dearness Allowance calculator
What the current DA rate adds to a basic pay, and what changes between two rates.
How this is calculated
DA = basic x DA% / 100. The hike is the difference between the two rates applied to the same basic.
- DA for central government employees is revised twice a year, in January and July, from the Labour Bureau consumer price index.
Rates this tool uses
| Dearness Allowance for central government employees | 63% | from 1 July 2026source |
|---|
1 rate is shown above, with the date it took effect and, where one was read, the source it came from. A rate that has not been verified is left out and the field stays blank for you to fill in. If a document disagrees with a figure here, the document is right and this table is out of date.
Dearness allowance is the component that moves twice a year, so the interesting number is the difference between the old rate and the new one applied to the same basic.
How DA is fixed
The rate for central government employees and pensioners is revised from the all-India consumer price index for industrial workers, published by the Labour Bureau, and takes effect from 1 January and 1 July. The cabinet approves it; the Department of Personnel and Training issues the order. Dearness relief is the identical percentage applied to pension, and the two are announced together.
Because the revision is retrospective to those dates even when the order arrives weeks later, arrears are common — a difference a payslip shows all at once rather than as a raised monthly figure.
What DA is used for
DA is added to basic for the pension and gratuity bases, and the annual increment is calculated on pay plus DA rather than on basic alone. Leave encashment is computed on basic plus DA. Where a rule says “pay”, it may mean basic only — the wording of the rule decides, which is why the two figures are worth distinguishing on any claim.
Questions readers ask
Do state employees get the same DA?
No. Each state fixes its own DA, often linked to its own price index and often at a different percentage or effective date. Some states merge DA into basic instead of revising it.
Why does my DA look smaller than this?
Because the percentage applies to basic, not to gross. If the comparison is against the total salary, the allowance will always look smaller than the headline rate suggests.
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