Sankranti Comes Early for Employees as Telugu States Revise DA, DR

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have announced significant Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) measures ahead of Sankranti, extending financial relief to government employees and pensioners as part of festival-season support.

In Telangana, the government issued separate orders on January 12, 2026 , revising DA for serving employees and DR for pensioners under the Revised Pay Scales-2020 (RPS-2020) . The DA/DR rate has been increased from 30.03% to 33.67% , with retrospective effect from July 1, 2023 . The revision applies to regular government employees across departments and institutions, including local bodies such as Zilla Parishads, Mandal Parishads, Gram Panchayats, Municipalities, Municipal Corporations, Agricultural Market Committees and Zilla Grandhalaya Samsthas, as well as aided institutions and universities under the applicable pay structures. Pensioners and family pension beneficiaries governed by Telangana pension rules will receive the corresponding DR hike, reinforcing inflation-linked income protection.

In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the government released over ₹2,600 crore as a Sankranti-season disbursement covering DA and DR arrears, police benefits and pending contractor bills. Announcing the decision on January 12 , State Finance Minister P. Keshav said the payments would benefit around 5.7 lakh beneficiaries , including employees, pensioners, police personnel and contractors.

Of the total amount, ₹1,100 crore has been released towards one pending instalment of DA and DR arrears for employees and pensioners. With this payment, around 2.2 lakh Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) employees and 2.7 lakh pensioners will benefit. An additional ₹110 crore has been sanctioned towards surrender leave payments for nearly 55,000 police personnel .

The Andhra Pradesh government has also cleared ₹1,243 crore towards works executed under External Aided Projects (EAP) , NABARD , State Assistance to State Key Infrastructure (SASKI) and the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) . This includes around ₹40 crore towards bills under the Neeru-Chettu programme focused on water conservation and plantation. Over 19,000 contractors are expected to receive payments as part of this release.

Together, the announcements by the two Telugu states have added a distinctly festive note to Sankranti this year, bringing timely financial cheer to government employees and pensioners. With DA and DR revisions coinciding with the harvest festival, many households will be able to celebrate Sankranti with a little more ease and security, making the festival that much brighter for employees and pensioners alike.