Important news has emerged for government employees. The Sikkim government has announced an increase in dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for state government employees and pensioners. Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang announced a 2 percent increase in employees' DA.

The benefits of this government decision will be effective from January 1, 2026. Employees will receive the increased DA along with arrears. In Gangtok, the Chief Minister announced that employees will be paid the arrears before Dashain 2026. This means they will likely receive the arrears along with their September salaries. This year, Dashain will be celebrated in Sikkim from October 11 to 21.

DA for Central Employees 60%
The central government revises the DA of government employees and pensioners twice a year, in January and July. In January 2026, the DA for central employees was increased by 2%, from 58% to 60%. However, the official DA hike for July 2026 has not yet been announced. This announcement is likely to be made around Diwali.

DA hike in other states too:
The DA and DR of railway employees have also been increased by 2 percent. Furthermore, employees in some states have benefited from the DA hike. West Bengal has seen a 20 percent increase, while the governments of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh have increased their employees' DA by 2 percent.

PC: Upstox