← 6 November 2026's Current Affairs · Karnataka KPSC Prelims ★★★★☆ Mains ★★☆☆☆
Karnataka raises DA for employees to 18%
Why in News?
From 15.75% to 18%: the Karnataka DA hike and how dearness allowance differs from basic pay
DA lifted from 15.75% to 18%.
Why it matters: factual, Prelims-type; Karnataka-specific
What you need to know
2 min read
The Karnataka government has raised dearness allowance for state employees and pensioners on the 2024 revised pay scale from 15.75 per cent to 18 per cent of basic pay, a Deepavali gift.
The order was announced under Chief Minister D.K.
Shivakumar.
Sources: Topper IAS editorial (PIB / The Hindu / Indian Express)
Key facts
Remember these
- Karnataka raised DA for state employees and pensioners from 15.75% to 18% of basic pay
- The hike applies to the 2024 revised pay scale
- Announced as a Deepavali gift under Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar
- Dearness allowance is paid to offset inflation and is calculated as a percentage of basic pay
- Beneficiaries include both serving employees and pensioners
Prelims · Mains
How the exam will ask it
Prelims
- Dearness allowance is a cost-of-living adjustment paid to government employees and pensioners as a percentage of basic pay.
- State governments fix DA for their own employees, and it is usually revised in step with the central government's rates, though not bound to them.
- Karnataka's DA hike covers employees on the 2024 revised pay scale as well as pensioners.
Mains
GS Paper 2/3: State finances and administration. Issue: periodic DA revisions raise the salary and pension bill of states. Policy: DA is an inflation-linked adjustment on basic pay, revised by the state in line with price trends and pay commission norms. Implication: higher committed expenditure squeezes capital spending and fiscal deficit targets. Way forward: link revisions to revenue buoyancy and keep fiscal responsibility limits.
Quick recall
Answer before you reveal
Karnataka has raised the dearness allowance of state government employees on the 2024 revised pay scale from 15.75% of basic pay to:
- 18%
- 16.5%
- 17.25%
- 19%
Show answer
Answer: A — Correct: 18% — the state order lifts DA from 15.75% to 18% of basic pay for employees and pensioners. • 16.5% — wrong: 16.5% is a smaller step than the one ordered. • 17.25% — wrong: 17.25% falls short of the ordered rate. • 19% — wrong: 19% overshoots the rate fixed in the order.
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