A Diwali gift of dearness allowance (DA) is certain for central employees and pensioners. There will be a 3% increase for the July-December 2025 cycle, which will increase DA from 55% to 58%. This hike will be the last fixed hike of the 7th Central Pay Commission (7th CPC), as the term of the commission ends on 31 December 2025.
6th Pay Commission vs 7th Pay Commission: How much was the DA in the end?
If we compare the end of the 7th Pay Commission with the 6th Pay Commission, the picture becomes clear.
6th Pay Commission: During the tenure (1 January 2006 – 31 December 2015), the last DA increase was 6% in July 2015 and at that time DA had reached 119%.
7th Pay Commission: Implemented from January 2016. Now at the end of December 2025, DA will be 58% for the last time.
That is, the tenure of the 7th Commission will end at about half the level of dearness allowance of employees at the end of the 6th Commission.
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The rule was different in the 5th Pay Commission (1 January 1996 – 31 December 2005). At that time whenever DA reached 50%, it was added to the basic pay. For this reason, by the end of the commission, DA was only 41%.
How is DA decided?
DA is decided every six months (January and July) on the basis of the All India CPI-IW index.
The average CPI-IW for July 2024-June 2025 was 143.6, on the basis of which the new DA comes out to be 58%.
Delay in 8th Pay Commission is certain
In principle, a new pay commission is implemented every 10 years. That is, the 8th Pay Commission should have been implemented from 1 January 2026. But the reality is that till now neither the Terms of Reference (ToR) have been decided for it nor the chairman and members have been appointed.
History shows that it takes 18–24 months to implement the recommendations of any pay commission. In this context, the 8th Pay Commission can be implemented in 2027.
When and how will employees get relief? » Read More
