Overview
- The Finance Ministry told the Lok Sabha there is no proposal at present to merge dearness allowance or dearness relief with basic pay.
- The government formally constituted the Eighth Central Pay Commission on Nov. 3, 2025, with former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai as chair.
- The commission is expected to submit recommendations within 18 months, though some reports caution that implementation could slip beyond 2026.
- DA and DR currently stand at 55% after a recent 3% hike and are revised every six months based on the Labour Bureau’s AICPI-IW.
- Employee unions have pressed for an immediate 50% DA–basic pay merger and interim relief, and the outcome will affect about 50 lakh employees and 65 lakh pensioners.