DA hike from 60% to 63%: how to work out your raise and July–October arrears

DA hike order is out

The Department of Expenditure (DoE) has issued the official order.

It is Office Memorandum (OM) No. 1/2(i)/2026-E.II(B), dated 29 October 2026.

DA for Central Government employees goes up from 60% to 63% of Basic Pay.

It applies from 1 July 2026.

So you get the extra DA for July, August, September and October as arrears.

Read the official OM here: DoE OM, 29 Oct 2026 (PDF).

Check your extra DA and arrears in simple steps below.

What the order says

As per the DoE OM dated 29 October 2026:

• Old rate: 60% of Basic Pay.
• New rate: 63% of Basic Pay.
• Rise: 3 percentage points.
• Effective from: 1 July 2026.
• Pay Commission: 7th CPC pay structure.

The Union Cabinet approved this on 28 October 2026. PIB release.

DoE issued the OM the next day, 29 October 2026.

Who the order covers

This OM is for civilian Central Government employees on the 7th CPC Pay Matrix.

It also covers defence civilians.

These are civilian staff paid from the Defence Services Estimates.

It does not directly cover these groups:

• Armed Forces personnel. The Ministry of Defence will issue a separate order.
• Railway employees. The Ministry of Railways will issue a separate order.
• Pensioners. Dearness Relief (DR) comes in a separate DoPPW order. See the pensioners section below.
• State government employees. Your state government decides your DA.

Staff in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department are covered too. DoE issued the OM in consultation with the CAG.

What “Basic Pay” means here

Para 2 of the OM defines it.

Basic Pay = the pay in your Level in the Pay Matrix (7th CPC).

It does not include special pay or any other type of pay.

It is not gross salary. It is not CTC.

Para 3 says DA stays a separate part of your salary.

DA is not treated as “pay” under FR 9(21).

Rounding rule

Para 4 of the OM gives the rounding rule.

• 50 paise and above: rounded up to the next rupee.
• Below 50 paise: ignored.

So your pay slip may differ from your own sum by ₹1.

How to work out the monthly raise (7th CPC)

Formula

Monthly extra DA = Basic Pay × 3%

Or: monthly extra DA = Basic Pay × 0.03

Why 3%?

New DA is 63%. Old DA was 60%.

Difference = 3 percentage points.

Worked examples (Basic Pay only)

These rows are examples from common Level minimum basics. Your own Basic Pay may differ after increment or promotion.

6th CPC and 5th CPC staff

Some staff still draw pay in the old 6th CPC or 5th CPC scales.

DoE issued separate OMs for them on the same day, 29 October 2026.

All three apply from 1 July 2026.

Note: the “Basic Pay × 3%” formula in this guide is for 7th CPC only.

• 6th CPC staff: use Basic Pay × 7% for the monthly extra DA.
• 5th CPC staff: use Basic Pay × 14% for the monthly extra DA.

Basic Pay here means pay in your old (pre-revised) scale. Ask your pay section if you are not sure.

How to work out July–October arrears

The new rate applies from 1 July 2026.

You were paid DA at 60% for July, August, September and October 2026.

So you may get four months of the extra 3% as arrears.

Formula

Arrears ≈ Basic Pay × 3% × 4

That is: arrears ≈ monthly extra DA × 4.

Same examples

When will arrears be paid?

The OM does not give a month for paying arrears.

Your DDO or office decides when the arrears are paid.

Do not trust a payment month you see in news or on social media.

Ask your pay section if you want to know the date.

Pensioners (DR)

Pensioners get Dearness Relief (DR), not DA.

The DR order comes from the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW).

As of 30 October 2026, the DoPPW order for this hike is not out yet.

In past hikes, DR has usually moved by the same percentage as DA. Wait for the DoPPW order to confirm it.

If it does match, a rough check is:

• Monthly extra DR ≈ basic pension × 3%.
• Arrears for four months ≈ basic pension × 3% × 4.

Check the DoPPW Dearness Relief page for the order: doppw.gov.in — Dearness Relief.

Use the free percentage calculator until a DA tool is ready

Gauritanaya does not yet have a dedicated DA arrears tool.

You can still do the maths with the live percentage calculator:

1. Use the line “What is …% of …?”.
2. Enter 3 as the percent (7 for 6th CPC, 14 for 5th CPC).
3. Enter your Basic Pay as the amount.
4. The result is your extra DA for one month.
5. Multiply that result by 4 for Jul–Oct arrears (if four months apply to you).

What can change your number

• Annual increment in the middle of the period.
• Promotion or MACP that changed Basic Pay.
• NPS contribution on DA (employee share may change with DA).
• Rounding rule in Para 4 of the OM.
• State government DA — this article is for Central DA only.

So treat every table above as a rough check. Your pay slip is final.

Next steps

1. Note your Basic Pay from the latest pay slip (the basic line only).
2. Work out monthly extra DA and four-month arrears with the formulas above.
3. Open the DoE OM: OM No. 1/2(i)/2026-E.II(B), 29 Oct 2026 (PDF).
4. Ask your DDO or pay section when the new DA and arrears will show in your salary.
5. Keep a copy of the OM with your records.

Free helper on Gauritanaya

• Percentage calculator

Official sources

• DoE OM No. 1/2(i)/2026-E.II(B), 29 Oct 2026 — 7th CPC, DA 60% → 63%
• DoE OM No. 1/2(ii)/2026-E.II(B), 29 Oct 2026 — 6th CPC, DA 262% → 269%
• DoE OM No. 1/2(iii)/2026-E.II(B), 29 Oct 2026 — 5th CPC, DA 483% → 497%
• DoE orders / circulars list
• PIB Cabinet release on DA/DR (28 Oct 2026)
• DoPPW Dearness Relief page (pensioners' DR order, when issued)