Himachal Pradesh raised the Dearness Allowance (DA) rate for eligible state employees from 45% to 50%. The additional amount is scheduled with October salary, payable in November, while accumulated arrears are left to separate orders.
A Finance (Regulations) Department memorandum dated Oct. 23 covers state employees and officers under the Himachal Pradesh Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2022, All India Services officers and state employees on University Grants Commission pay scales. It applies a 1-percentage-point installment effective July 1, 2023, and a 4-percentage-point installment effective Jan. 1, 2024, raising the rate by 5 percentage points in total.
The extra DA is to be paid in cash with October 2026 salary. The memorandum says arrears accumulated through Sept. 30, 2026, will be paid under separate orders, but gives no date or method for those payments.
The 2026 memorandum follows an October 2025 Finance (Regulations) Department order that set the rate at 45%, including a 3-percentage-point installment effective July 1, 2023. The current order sets out further increases from July 2023 and January 2024. It does not state the total cost to the state.
Separately, The Tribune and Mint reported that a Finance (Pay Revision) Department order provides regular Group D, or Class IV, employees with Rs 10,000 in cash in November 2026 against pay revision arrears dating from Jan. 1, 2016. The reports describe a payment separate from the DA increase.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the Rs 10,000 was intended to help Class IV employees celebrate Diwali, in remarks posted by United News of India on X. Sukhu also referred to an adjustment against pension and pay arrears. The Tribune and Mint described the reported order as covering pay revision arrears dating from 2016. The DA increase is scheduled for payment with October salaries in November, while the accumulated DA arrears await separate orders.
