8th Pay Commission: Government gave statement on merging DA, DR with basic pay, what did it say? Know

8th pay commission: For the last few months, government employees were hoping that they might get some relief before the 8th Pay Commission. From social media to employee organizations, there was discussion everywhere that the government may add Dearness Allowance (DA) to the basic salary. But a clear statement came out from the government, which put an end to all these discussions. Now employees and pensioners are again keeping an eye on how much relief the 8th Pay Commission will bring to their pockets.

The government has made it completely clear that at present no proposal is under consideration to merge Dearness Allowance (DA) with the basic salary. This information was given by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on 1 December 2025. He said, “At present the government does not have any proposal for consideration to add dearness allowance to the basic salary.”

This answer was given to the questions of MP Anand Bhadauria, in which he said that inflation has increased so rapidly in the last 30 years that the DA and DR received by employees and pensioners is not matching the actual retail inflation. For this reason, many employee organizations have been demanding for a long time that at least 50 percent DA should be included in the basic salary.

The government also has to look at the economic balance!

Rohitashv Sinha, partner, King Stub & Kasiva, Advocates & Attorneys, an expert on salary related matters, says that this is not just a matter of emotions but also of the economic balance of the country. He says, “Employees argue that their real income has decreased due to rising inflation, but the government has to look at the demands of the employees as well as the economic discipline of the country, especially during election time when expenditure and budget have to be kept under close control.”

According to experts, there is little possibility of providing direct relief, but the government may consider strengthening the fitment factor. Fitment factor is the same coefficient on the basis of which future DA and DR increase is decided. Presently it is 2.57, and if it is increased to 3.0 then along with the basic pay all associated allowances, such as HRA, TA and other special allowances also increase.

Rohitashv Sinha explains that “If the fitment factor increases from 2.57 to 3.0, then the basic salary at the entry level can increase by 15-20 percent.” Pensioners will also get the same benefit, as pension is always given on the basis of 50 percent of the newly revised basic pay.

When will the 7th Pay Commission expire?

Here, the period of the Seventh Pay Commission is going to end on 31st December. In such a situation, this question is gaining momentum in the minds of employees that until the 8th Pay Commission is implemented, DA and DR will increase in the old manner or will be stopped for some time. On this too, Rohitashv Sinha says that the employees are now waiting for clear signals from the government.

Finally, the government has assured that DA and DR will be revised every six months, so that the real value of salary and pension does not decrease due to inflation. This amendment will be done on the basis of AICPI-IV i.e. All India Price Index of Industrial Workers, which is released by the Labor Bureau.