The Sikkim government has announced increased dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for state government employees and pensioners under pre-revised and revised pay structures, effective from 1 January 2026. According to a PTI report citing an official circular, the announcement was made on Thursday, 1 October, affecting approximately 50,000 employees and pensioners in the state.
For state government employees and pensioners drawing pay under the pre-revised basic pay structure (6th CPC), DA and DR has been increased by 5% from 257% to 262% with effect from 1 January 2026. For employees and pensioners under the revised basic pay structure (7th CPC), the DA and DR has been increased by 2% from 58% to 60%, as reported by PTI.
For All India Service (AIS) officers continuing to draw pay under the pre-revised pay band and grade pay structure as per the 6th CPC, DA is hiked by 5% from 257% to 262%, with effect from 1 January 2026. For AIS officers drawing salary under the revised basic pay structure based on the recommendations of the 7th CPC, DA is up by 2% from 58% to 60%, according to the Finance Department circular.
The revised DA rates will also apply to contractual employees and personnel of work-charged establishments drawing revised pay in the regular scales of the state government, as per the Finance Department circular. According to the circular, amounts involving a fraction of 50 paise or more would be rounded off to the next higher rupee, while fractions below 50 paise would be ignored.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government notified its 8% DA hike for state government employees and pensioners with effect from 1 September 2026, as reported by another PTI report. The enhanced DA will be rolled out in two instalments of 4% each, with the benefit to be reflected in salaries from 1 October. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann stated that the decision will provide additional financial support to thousands of government employees and pensioners ahead of the festive season.
