How DA is calculated, from a price index to your payslip
Dearness allowance follows one price index, the CPI for industrial workers. Here is how that index turns into the 63% central government staff get from July 2026, and what it means in rupees.
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DA is the percentage by which the CPI for industrial workers (CPI-IW) has risen over a fixed base, worked out from its 12-month average.
It is revised twice a year, from 1 January and 1 July. The latest rise takes it from 60% to 63% of basic pay from 1 July 2026.
On the lowest 7th Pay Commission basic pay of ₹18,000, 63% DA is ₹11,340 a month, ₹540 more than at 60%.