8th Pay Commission: The central government is expected to announce DA hike before Holi in March, with a possible 2% rise in January 2026
8th Pay Commission Update
8th Pay Commission: Good news may be in store for central government employees before Holi. According to recent reports in the media, the Modi government is likely to make an announcement regarding an increase in Dearness Allowance in the first week of March. This increase will be a part of the new salary structure that will be introduced in the new 8th Pay Commission.
This news is also important because the 7th Central Pay Commission completed its term on December 31, 2025. Now that the 7th Central Pay Commission has completed its term, there is a lot of buzz about the changes that will be made in salaries and Dearness Allowance in the 8th Pay Commission.
Dearness Allowance is normally changed twice a year. The first change is for the January months, and it normally takes place in March. The second change occurs in July, and it normally happens during the festive season, around October or November, close to Diwali.
The January DA increase this year is particularly important since it happens right after the completion of the 7th Pay Commission. With the transition to the 8th Pay Commission in motion, the government will soon make an announcement regarding the next Dearness Allowance increase, probably before Holi.
As of December 31, 2025, the Dearness Allowance was at 58 percent after a 3 percent rise for the period of July to December 2025. Rumors are also circulating that there might be another 2 percent rise in DA from January 2026, based on the current situation and inflation rates. This will further increase the DA level to 60 percent.
This rise, though small, will still be substantial. The 2 percent rise in DA would be the smallest rise in the past 26 years, but it would not be the lowest. To give a comparison, the DA was raised by only 1 percent in January 2000, while a 2 percent rise was observed in January 2007, 2018, and 2025.
Even a small rise in DA has a direct effect on the take-home pay, pension, and arrears of the employees.
The Terms of Reference for the 8th Pay Commission were published by the government on November 3, 2025. As per the usual procedure, when a new pay commission is introduced, the existing DA is merged into the new basic pay. This means that the DA is set to zero in the new pay structure, and the DA calculation starts fresh.
This has been done in all previous pay commission revisions, and the same is expected to happen in the 8th Pay Commission as well.
