BENGALURU: In a major Deepavali bonanza for lakhs of State Government employees and pensioners, the Karnataka Government has officially announced a hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) from 12.25% to 14.25% of the basic pay.
The new rates will come into effect retrospectively from July 1, 2025, according to a government order announced on Wednesday. The revised DA applies to all employees drawing salaries under the 2024 revised pay scales. It also extends to pensioners and family pensioners, including those in aided educational institutions drawing pensions from the state’s consolidated fund.
The increase is based on the basic pay or pension, which includes: Any stagnation increment beyond the pay scale ceiling, personal pay granted under specific rules, and additional increments sanctioned beyond the maximum of the pay scale. However, the DA will not include any other allowances or benefits beyond those explicitly defined as part of the “basic pay” or “basic pension” under the Karnataka Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2024.
The new DA structure also covers, full-time government and ZP employees, full-time work-charged staff in time-bound pay scales, employees of grant-in-aid institutions and universities drawing salaries on time-bound scales, retired employees under UGC/AICTE/ICAR pay scales (with separate orders to follow for some judicial officers).
The DA amount will be paid in cash until further notice, and only amounts of 50 paise or more will be rounded up to the nearest rupee. Arrears will not be paid before the disbursement of October 2025 salaries. Importantly, the government clarified that the DA will continue to be treated as a distinct component of salary, and cannot be considered as part of basic pay for any other purposes.
