Dearness Allowance is part of the Indian Salary structure for the central government employees and pensioners. This DA serves as a cost of living adjustment which is designed to eliminate the impact of inflation on the employees and pensioners. Lastly, the DA was revised on 1st July, 2024 with a rate of 53% of the Basic pay. The DA is set to be revised biannually and now after this July, 2024 revision, there must be revision in January, 2025. But no DA was provided in January, 2025. Now, the employees and pensioners await the New DA Rates 2025. In this guide, we will look at when this new rate will be announced and what this rate can be and how this can impact the employees and pensioners.
New DA Rates 2025
The New DA Rates 2025 is set to be announced after the Union Cabinet meeting which is scheduled for March 19th, 2025 (Wednesday). In this meeting, the New Dearness Allowance Rate will be announced. This rate gets effect from 1st January, 2025 but the arrears of the past months will be adjusted. Speculations suggest that the DA will be raised by 2% and 3%. This means that DA can go from 53% to 55% or even 53% to 56%. The DA is an inflation allowance that is for the retired employees and current employees. Its main objective is only to cover the impact of inflation and maintain the employees and pensioners purchasing power. So this DA is set as per the Inflation Data. So, the DA rate fully depends on inflation data.
Dearness Allowance New Rates For 2025 – Highlights
| Post Title | New DA Rates 2025 |
| Year | 2025 |
| Country Name | India |
| Name of the Salary Component | Dearness Allowance |
| Revision Frequency | Bi-Annually (In July & January) |
| Decided By | Union Council of Ministers |
| Current DA Rate | 53% |
| Expected DA Raise | 53% to 55% or 53% to 56% |
| New DA Rate Effectiveness | 1st January, 2025 |
| Union Cabinet Meeting Date | 19th March, 2025 |
| Category | News |
| Official Web Page | www.doe.gov.in |
Historical View of Dearness Allowance
The concept of DA was firstly introduced after World War II and initially DA was termed as Dear Food Allowance. Over the time, it has undergone various revisions. Here we will see DA revisions under the 7th Pay Commission:
| Effective From | Rate |
| 1st January, 2016 | 0% |
| 1st June, 2016 | 2% |
| 1st January, 2017 | 4% |
| 1st June, 2017 | 5% |
| 1st January, 2018 | 7% |
| 1st June, 2018 | 9% |
| 1st January, 2019 | 12% |
| 1st June, 2019 | 17% |
| 1st January, 2020 | 21% (Notional) |
| 1st June, 2020 | 24% (Notional) |
| 1st January, 2021 | 28% (Notional) |
| 1st June, 2021 | 31% |
| 1st January, 2022 | 34% |
| 1st June, 2022 | 38% |
| 1st January, 2023 | 42% |
| 1st June, 2023 | 46% |
| 1st January, 2024 | 50% |
| 1st June, 2024 | 53% |
Anticipated DA Hike From January 2025
As per the inflation data or AICPI, the expected DA raise for January 2025 is to be 2% or even 3%. It means that any one raise can be true.
- Current DA Rate: 53% as of July 2024
- Expected DA Rate: 55% (2% Hike) or 56% (3% Hike) as effective from 1st January, 2025
The final DA Rate will be confirmed after Today (19th March, 2025) cabinet meeting.
Impact of New DA On Employees & Pensioners
Dearness Allowance directly affects the take home salary of the central government employees and the pensioners. For the employees, this inflation allowance is known as DA but for the pensioners, this inflation allowance is known as Dearness Relief.
DA Hike Impact on Government Employees:
| Basic Pay | Current DA @53% | DA @ 55% with 2% Hike | Raise | DA @56% with 3% Hike | Raise |
| 18,000 | 9,540 | 9,900 | 360 | 10,080 | 540 |
| 25,000 | 13,250 | 13,750 | 500 | 14,000 | 750 |
| 35,000 | 18,550 | 19,250 | 700 | 19,600 | 1,050 |
| 50,000 | 26,500 | 27,500 | 1,000 | 28,000 | 1,500 |
| 70,000 | 37,100 | 38,500 | 1,400 | 39,200 | 2,100 |
| 1,00,000 | 53,000 | 55,000 | 2,000 | 56,000 | 3,000 |
Impact of DA Hike on Pensioners:
| Basic Pension | Current DA @53% | DA @ 55% with 2% Hike | Raise | DA @56% with 3% Hike | Raise |
| 20,000 | 10,600 | 11,000 | 400 | 11,200 | 600 |
| 30,000 | 15,900 | 16,500 | 600 | 16,800 | 900 |
| 50,000 | 26,500 | 27,500 | 1,000 | 28,000 | 1,500 |
| 70,000 | 37,100 | 38,500 | 1,400 | 39,200 | 2,100 |
| 1,00,000 | 53,000 | 55,000 | 2,000 | 56,000 | 3,000 |
FAQ Related To New DA Rates 2025
The New DA Rates will be applicable from January 1st, 2025. The payments will be disbursed after the Cabinet approval.
Today, 19th March, 2025, the Union Cabinet meeting is going to be held and in this meeting the new DA rate is announced.
Yes, the employees and the pensioners will get the arrears for the months from January 2025 to the approval date.
The next DA revision is expected to be in July 2025.