The West Bengal government announced a 20 percentage-point hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for state employees and pensioners. The increase comes into effect on October 1, 2026, bringing the total DA entitlement to 38% of the basic pay.
The revision was announced by Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta on June 22, 2026, during the presentation of the newly elected BJP-led state government’s maiden full budget.
This effectively increases DA and DR to 38% of basic salary for West Bengal state government employees and pensioners.
Central government employees and pensioners are covered by the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC), which offers a different pay structure and increases pay. In contrast, the West Bengal state employees and pensioners are still covered by the 5th and 6th CPC, which have much lower salaries. Now, with the 8th CPC underway, there are concerns that the salary gap will widen.
Notably, Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has also committed to implementing the 7th pay commission recommendations by January 2027, Bhaskar Ghosh, convenor of the Joint Struggle Forum of State Government Employees told reporters earlier this month.
