Jaipur, October 3 (Udaipur Kiran News): Ahead of the Diwali festival, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma has approved a 3% increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners. With this decision, the DA has now been raised from 55% to 58%, benefiting around 12.4 lakh employees and pensioners across the state.

The announcement follows the Central Government’s decision on Wednesday to increase DA for its employees. Acting swiftly, the Chief Minister directed the Finance Department to implement the same hike in Rajasthan without delay.

As per the order, under the 7th Pay Commission, the revised DA and DR rates will be applicable from July 1, 2025. Around 8 lakh serving employees and 4.4 lakh pensioners will gain from this revision, including personnel of Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads.

Employees will receive the revised DA in cash with their October 2025 salary, payable in November 2025. The arrears for the period July 1 to September 30, 2025 will be deposited in their General Provident Fund (GPF) accounts. Pensioners will receive the enhanced DR in cash from July 1, 2025.

This employee-friendly move is expected to put an additional financial burden of ₹1,230 crore per year on the state exchequer.