Good news for Sikkim government employees, pensioners: Massive DA hike announced | Check details

DA for AIS officers on the Seventh Pay Commission-based revised pay structure has gone up from 58 to 60 per cent from January 1.

Written by: Hritika Mitra

Published: October 1, 2026, 6:01 PM IST

Share

Share Article

• Facebook
• WhatsApp
• X
• Email
• Telegram
• Linkedin

https://www.india.com/business/good-news-for-sikkim-government-employees-pensioners-massive-da-hike-announced-check-details-8531980/ Copy

Massive DA hike has been announced for Sikkim govt employees. Representational image

Sikkim has raised the Dearness Allowance (DA) for its government employees and the Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners. A Finance Department circular issued on Thursday says the new rates apply from January 1.

Employees and pensioners on the pre-revised basic pay structure will now get DA and DR at 262 per cent, up from 257 per cent. Those on the revised structure see their rates rise from 58 per cent to 60 per cent.

Also Read | DA hike July 2026 BIG Update: Modi government to rise DA from 60 percent to 64 percent? Basic salary to…

Contractual employees and staff in work-charged establishments who get revised pay under the state’s regular scales are covered by the new rates too. Separately, the government has revised DA for All India Service officers. Those AIS officers still paid under the Sixth Central Pay Commission’s pre-revised pay band and grade pay system now get 262 per cent, up from 257 per cent.

For AIS officers receiving pay under the revised basic pay structure based on the Seventh Central Pay Commission, the DA has been raised from 58 per cent to 60 per cent, effective January 1.

The circular also lays out a rounding rule for the revised payments: anything from 50 paise upwards goes up to the next rupee, and anything under 50 paise is dropped. Sikkim has roughly 50,000 employees and pensioners on its rolls.

Central govt employees may get 63% DA hike

Central government staff and pensioners are still waiting on the next dearness allowance (DA) revision, while work on the 8th Pay Commission carries on. The July 2026 hike is expected to push up salaries and pensions once more under the current 7th Pay Commission framework.

The latest All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) figures point to a 3 percentage point hike in DA for central government employees, taking it from 60 per cent to 63 per cent of basic pay.

Also Read | Good news for 85,000 Punjab govt employees as state announces massive DA hike; details here

The hike, once approved by the Union Cabinet, will be effective retrospectively from July 1, 2026. This means employees and pensioners are likely to receive arrears for the period between July and the month in which the revised DA is actually paid.

Notably, DA is revised twice a year, in January and July, using the average of the past 12 months of Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) data. With the Labour Bureau’s June 2026 figures now out, the 12-month cycle for the July 2026 revision is complete. June’s CPI-IW climbed 1.1 points to 151.9, up from 150.8 in May.

The 12-month CPI-IW average for July 2025 to June 2026 is 148.65, which translates to about 63.76 per cent DA under the 7th Pay Commission method. With DA paid in whole percentages, the expected rate is 63 per cent, up 3 percentage points from 60 per cent.