The Odisha government has approved a 5 per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for state- government employees covered under the pre-revised Odisha Revised Scales of Pay (ORSP) Rules, 2008.
With the revision, DA has been increased from 257 to 262 per cent of the combined basic pay and grade pay, with retrospective effect from 1 January, 2026. The move aligns the state’s DA for employees under the pre-revised pay structure with the Centre’s revised DA for employees covered under the 6th Central Pay Commission.
The enhanced DA will benefit state government employees drawing pay under the ORSP Rules, 2008, employees of aided educational institutions, fully state-funded university teaching and non-teaching staff, subordinate judicial officers, work-charged employees receiving regular pay, and certain job contract workers. The benefit will also extend to employees who were in service under the ORSP Rules as of 1 July, 2025, but retired or otherwise left service before the latest order was issued.
The revised DA will be paid along with salaries for July 2026, while arrears for the period from February 2026 until the month preceding implementation will also be released. The state government is expected to issue detailed instructions regarding the payment of arrears.
The decision follows the Centre’s recent enhancement of Dearness Allowance for employees under the 6th Central Pay Commission. Odisha said the revision was approved after taking into account the state’s financial position and fiscal commitments under the Odisha Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.
