The Gujarat government has approved a 3% hike in Dearness Allowance for 4.62 lakh serving state employees and 5.07 lakh pensioners, taking DA under the 7th Pay Commission from 60% to 63% of basic pay, effective 1 July 2026.
The decision was taken at a state Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. Senior Cabinet Minister and government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani announced the decision, saying the hike aligns with the Union government’s 3% DA increase approved by the Modi Cabinet on 28 October. Arrears for the four-month period from July to October 2026 will be credited in a single instalment along with the November 2026 salary and pension, per the Cabinet announcement reported from Gandhinagar. The announcement was described by the state as a festive-season measure for government employees and pensioners.
“The state government would spend Rs 523 crore on the payment of arrears, while the DA hike would result in an additional annual financial burden of Rs 1,569 crore,” Vaghani told reporters in Gandhinagar.
The hike covers employees in state government departments, panchayat services and other state-run organisations, as well as retired employees covered under the 6th and 7th Pay Commissions. Independent reporting placed the beneficiary count at more than 9.69 lakh people.
The Union Cabinet’s own 3% DA increase, from 60% to 63%, applies to 48.54 lakh central government employees and 68.71 lakh pensioners, with a combined annual exchequer impact of Rs 10,016.10 crore as notified in the 28 October decision. Several states, including Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, have followed with their own revisions in the days since.
The revised rate takes Gujarat’s state DA in line with the central rate. State-paid workforces will see the arrears land in November pay cycles, ahead of the Diwali period. Finance departments at the panchayat and deputation level are expected to issue operational circulars in the coming days.
