The Rajasthan government has raised dearness allowance (DA) for its employees and dearness relief (DR) for pensioners by 3 percentage points, from 60% to 63%, with Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma approving the hike on Friday as a Diwali gift, The Times of India reported from Jaipur. The hike covers employees and pensioners under the 7th pay scale and takes effect from July 1, 2026.

Source: The Times of India, Jaipur

The state's Finance Department (Rules Division) formalised the employee side of the revision in an order dated October 30, 2026 — Order No. F. 6(3)FD(Rules)/2017 — revising the DA rate for employees drawing pay under the Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2017 from 60% to 63% with effect from July 1, 2026. DA is calculated on basic pay in the pay matrix alone, excluding special pay or personal pay, the order said.

Source: Rajasthan Finance Department order, via Indian Pay Calculator

63%New DA / DR rate, up from 60%
7 lakh+Employees reported to benefit
5 lakh+Pensioners reported to benefit
Rs 820 croreAdditional annual expenditure reported on the revision

Cash from the November salary; arrears go to GPF

Employees will receive the increased DA in cash with their November salary, payable in December, while the arrears for the four months from July to October 2026 will be credited to their General Provident Fund accounts — GPF for those recruited before January 1, 2004, and the corresponding GPF-2004 / GPF-SAB accounts for later recruits and staff of state autonomous bodies, PSUs, boards and corporations, according to the Finance Department order. Pensioners will receive the increased dearness relief in cash from July 1, 2026, The Times of India reported.

Alongside the hike, the government has approved an ad-hoc bonus for around 6 lakh eligible employees, entailing an additional burden of about Rs 406 crore, the report said. A separate Finance Department order dated October 30 gives employees in Pay Level L-12 or below a bonus equal to 30 days' emoluments for 2025-26, with emoluments capped at Rs 7,000 a month, covering staff who were in service on March 31, 2026 and remained in service on April 1, 2026.

Source: Rajasthan Finance Department bonus order, via Indian Pay Calculator

Separate from the Centre's hike

Rajasthan's order is a state decision for its own employees and pensioners. It follows, but is distinct from, the Union Cabinet's decision on October 28 to raise DA and DR for central government employees and pensioners from 60% to 63% from July 1, 2026 — state governments set DA for their own staff separately, and Rajasthan's Finance Department order is the instrument that makes the new rate payable to state staff.