Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Friday announced an increase in the Dearness Allowance (DA) for teaching staff under the UGC, AICTE and medical education schemes, and Dearness Relief (DR) for UGC pensioners and family pensioners.

According to a finance department order, the DA rate for teaching staff who shifted to the revised pay scale from January 2016 or later has been raised from 42 per cent to 46 per cent. For those continuing under the sixth pay scale effective from January 2006, the DA has been increased from 221 per cent to 230 per cent.

The DR for UGC pensioners and family pensioners whose pension was revised under the 2020 order will also rise from 42 per cent to 46 per cent. For those whose pensions were not revised, the DR will go up from 221 per cent to 230 per cent.

The enhanced DA will be paid with the October 2025 salary, while the revised DR will apply from November 2025. The order clarified that the hike is subject to fund availability in grant-in-aid institutions implementing UGC, AICTE and medical education schemes.

On Thursday, the government had also raised DA for state employees, teachers, and staff of aided institutions from 18 per cent to 22 per cent.

Employees and pensioners of public sector undertakings, statutory bodies, autonomous organisations and boards following the state DA-DR pattern will be eligible for the hike, provided they can meet the expenses from their own funds.

The order excludes entities such as the Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd and the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, which will issue separate DA-DR notifications.