Bhubaneswar, July 23: The Odisha government has approved a 5 per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees drawing salaries under the pre-revised Odisha Revised Scales of Pay (ORSP) Rules, 2008.

Following the revision, the DA has been raised from 257 per cent to 262 per cent of the combined basic pay and grade pay with retrospective effect from January 1, 2026. The move brings Odisha's DA for employees under the pre-revised pay structure in line with the Centre's revised DA for staff covered under the 6th Central Pay Commission.

The revised DA will benefit state government employees under the ORSP Rules, 2008, employees of aided educational institutions, teaching and non-teaching staff of fully state-funded universities, subordinate judicial officers, work-charged employees receiving regular pay, and certain categories of job contract workers.

The benefit will also apply to employees who were in service under the ORSP Rules as on July 1, 2025, but retired or otherwise left service before the issuance of the latest order.

The enhanced DA will be reflected in salaries for July 2026. Arrears for the period from February 2026 up to the month preceding implementation will also be paid, with the state government expected to issue detailed guidelines for disbursing the arrears.

The decision comes after the Central government recently enhanced Dearness Allowance for employees under the 6th Central Pay Commission. According to the state government, the revision was approved after considering Odisha's financial position and its fiscal obligations under the Odisha Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.