DA raised from 28% to 53%; ₹14,000 cr Prev Govt arrears being cleared by AAP Govt
Last Updated: 08 Nov 2026
DA raised from 28% to 53% under AAP Govt i.e. +25 percentage points in 4.5 years for Punjab Govt employees & pensioners[1][2]
-- Latest: 3% hike (50% → 53%) from 1 Dec 2026, paid with Dec salary[3]
-- Earlier: 8% hike (42% → 50%) from 1 Sept 2026, paid with September salary[2:1][4]
-- ~8 lakh employees & pensioners benefit[5]
Computer teachers (PICTES): DA up 40 points, from 181% to 221%[6]
-- Benefits 6,507 computer teachers working under PICTES
-- Announced by CM Bhagwant Mann on Diwali
Post-2020 recruits: DA for 85,000 employees recruited after 17 July 2020 (Central 7th Pay Commission pattern) to go from 42% to 60%, at par with Central Govt (Cabinet Sub-Committee, 4 Sept 2026)[7]
11 year Old Aklai Govt DA[8]
-- 6% DA instalment (Jul–Dec 2015, Akali-era period)
-- Paid in May 2023: ₹356 crore
Note[9]:
-- Punjab spends ~51% (vs ~38% average of other states)of its revenue on salaries & pensions
-- Punjab employees are among the highest paid in the country
1. DA hikes by AAP Govt[1:1][10][11][2:2]
| From | DA | Hike |
|---|---|---|
| March 2022 (inherited from Congress) | 28% | - |
| October 2022 | 34% | +6% |
| December 2023 | 38% | +4% |
| November 2024 | 42% | +4% |
| September 2026 | 50% | +8% |
| Dec 2026 | 53% | +3%[3:1] |
| Total under AAP | +25% |
2. Clearing previous Govts' pending arrears
₹14,000 crore arrears left unpaid by previous SAD-BJP & Congress Govts[12]
"We did not create this liability. We inherited it" - FM Harpal Cheema[9:1]
Approved for payment by AAP Cabinet (Feb 2025)[12:1]
-- Revised pay, pension & leave encashment: 1 Jan 2016 – 30 June 2022
-- DA arrears: 1 July 2021 – 31 March 2024
-- For 3 lakh employees & 3 lakh pensioners
₹4,500+ crore of these arrears already paid in monthly instalments (Sept 2026)[1:2][9:2]
DA arrears case (~₹14,191 crore) pending in High Court/Supreme Court (Sept 2026)[9:3]
3. Comparison with previous Govts
| Govt | DA given |
|---|---|
| AAP (2022 – Sept 2026) | 28% → 50% i.e. +22%; plus ₹4,500+ cr old arrears cleared[1:3][2:3] |
| Congress (2017-22) | 11% hike in 2021[13]; DA stood at 28% in March 2022[1:4]; left pay/DA arrears from 2016 unpaid[12:2] |
| SAD-BJP (2012-17) | DA instalment of 2015 left pending, released by AAP in 2023[8:1] |
4. Computer teachers (PICTES)
DA of 6,507 PICTES computer teachers raised by 40 points, from 181% to 221% (7 Nov 2026)[6:1]
- PICTES is the Punjab Information and Communication Technology Education Society
- Announced by CM Bhagwant Mann as a Diwali gift for government employees
Also announced the same day: Samagra Shiksha non-teaching staff (7 Nov 2026)[6:2]
- Salary-related benefits approved for 1,007 non-teaching employees under Samagra Shiksha
- Their services had been regularised recently
References:
https://www.thehansindia.com/news/national/punjab-pays-highest-salary-oppn-misleading-people-cheema-1117588 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=227147 (Punjab Govt notification, 23 Sept 2026) ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
https://yespunjab.com/punjab-govt-raises-da-to-53-with-fresh-3-hike-nearly-8-lakh-employees-pensioners-to-benefit/ (Punjab Govt Press Release) ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=227153 (23 Sept 2026) ↩︎
https://www.hrkatha.com/news/punjab-raises-da-to-50-for-government-employees-pensioners/ ↩︎
https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=229479 (Punjab Govt Press Release, 7 Nov 2026) ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=226310 (Punjab Govt Press Release, 4 Sept 2026) ↩︎
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-cm-bhagwant-mann-gives-nod-to-release-pending-instalment-of-6-per-cent-da-to-government-employees-510867 ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-govt-deploys-3-ministers-to-defuse-employee-da-arrears-row-ahead-of-sept-8-protest/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-govt-staff-get-4-da-hike-to-cost-state-rs-144-crore-each-month-573184/ ↩︎
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-announces-4-da-hike-for-govt-staff-pensioners/ ↩︎
https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/punjab-approves-disbursal-of-rs-14-000-cr-arrears-for-employees-pensioners-125021301615_1.html ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-govt-employees-da-hiked-by-11-333067 ↩︎
