Overview
- The Finance Department issued a formal notification on August 4 raising dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) to 38% with effect from October 1.
- The increase covers state employees, pensioners, teaching and non‑teaching staff at aided institutions and workers in panchayats, municipalities and other local bodies.
- For staff and pensioners still on pre‑revised pay scales the DA/DR rate has been raised in one step from 171% to 223% until their pay or pensions are revised.
- DA will be calculated on revised basic pay and non‑practising allowance (NPA) only, the notification adds an ad‑hoc Rs 110 per day for daily‑rated workers, and administrative departments are authorised to release payments without further Finance Department approvals.
- The guidelines force government undertakings and statutory bodies to meet the added cost from their own budgets, the Principal Accountant General will issue bank instructions, and reports differ on whether the chief minister or the finance minister first announced the hike.