Punjab Government Announces DA Hike for 85,000 Employees as Janmashtami Gift

Punjab's 85,000 government employees are going to get a Janmashtami gift. A three-member cabinet sub-committee of the Punjab government has recommended increasing the dearness allowance (DA) for about 85,000 government employees of the state from 42 percent to 60 percent. Announcing this on 4 September 2026, cabinet minister Aman Arora said that there will be a big increase in the dearness allowance (DA) of about 85,000 government employees recruited after 17 July 2020. He said that after the final approval of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, it will be implemented soon as a'Janmashtami gift '. It is to be noted that this increase in DA will not be for all government employees. It will only benefit those 85,000 employees who have been recruited after 17 July 2020. This is because the employees who were recruited after July 2020 were getting their basic salary according to the pay matrix of the 7th Pay Commission of the central government (7th Pay Commission), but their DA will be equal to 4 million (4 lakh) from the old DA pattern of Punjab.