The Samrat Choudhary-led Bihar government hiked on Wednesday the dearness allowance by 2 percentage points for state government employees and pensioners at a cabinet meeting in Patna.
The meeting also cleared 18 proposals in total, bringing the DA for those under the 7th Pay Commission to 60% of basic pay — in line with the central government's revised rate for central employees.
The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary at the state secretariat in Patna and attended by all 34 ministers.
The DA increase has been made effective from January 1 this year. Under the Seventh Pay Commission, the DA has been raised from 58% to 60% — bringing state employees on par with central government employees, who also received a 2-percentage-point hike to 60 % earlier this year.
For employees and pensioners under the Sixth Pay Commission, the rate has been raised from 257% to 262%, while under the Fifth Pay Commission it has been increased from 474% to 483%.
This is one of the first significant financial decisions of the Samrat Choudhary government, which came to power on April 15 after former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stepped down to contest the Rajya Sabha elections.
Choudhary is the first BJP leader to hold the chief minister's post in Bihar. The cabinet meeting came just days after a major expansion at Gandhi Maidan on May 7, where 32 ministers — including JDU leader and former CM Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar — took oath, completing the formation of the NDA government in the state.
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Dearness allowance is a cost-of-living adjustment paid to government employees and pensioners to offset the impact of inflation. It is calculated as a percentage of basic pay and revised twice a year — in January and July — on the basis of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers. Bihar has traditionally kept its DA revisions aligned with central government announcements.
The DA hike will benefit lakhs of state government employees and pensioners across Bihar. Since the revised rate is effective from January 1, employees will also receive arrears for the months since the start of the year, providing a lump-sum financial boost along with the revised monthly salary.
The meeting also approved 17 other proposals covering borrowing targets, policing, higher education, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and industrial investment — marking an active start to the Samrat Choudhary cabinet's policy agenda.
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