NEWS TODAY 31.03.2026

 

DA Hike January 2026: Central Govt Employees Likely To Receive DA Hike Soon; How Much Increase Expected?

DA Hike January 2026: Central Govt Employees Likely To Receive DA Hike Soon; How Much Increase Expected?

Curated By : Business Desk News18.com Last Updated: March 30, 2026, 12:46 IST Based on past trends and available data, the DA hike announcement is now expected in April 2026.

DA Hike January 2026. Central government employees and pensioners are still awaiting the announcement of the January 2026 Dearness Allowance (DA) hike, which has been delayed this year. While the revision is usually announced around Holi, no official decision has been taken so far. Based on past trends and available data, the announcement is now expected in April 2026.

Whenever notified, the revised DA will be effective from January 1, 2026.

How Much Is DA Hike Expected? Calculations using the All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) suggest that DA may increase by 2 percentage points from the current 58% to 60%.

The CPI-IW stood at 148.2 in December 2025, the latest available data point. As per the 7th Pay Commission formula, this translates to DA of around 60.34%.

Following the government’s practice of rounding off, the final DA and Dearness Relief (DR) are likely to be fixed at 60%.

The revision will benefit over one crore central government employees and pensioners.

Why the Announcement Is Getting Delayed The delay has drawn attention as the January DA hike is typically cleared in March or early April. However, this year coincides with a transition phase between two pay commissions. The tenure of the 7th Pay Commission ended on December 31, 2025, while the 8th Pay Commission has come into effect from January 1, 2026.

The new commission is yet to submit its recommendations and has been given 18 months from its constitution in November 2025 to do so. Until then, salary and pension revisions under the new framework will take time.

First DA Hike After 7th Pay Commission Period The upcoming revision will be the first DA hike after the conclusion of the 7th Pay Commission period.

Despite the rollout of the 8th Pay Commission, employees will continue to receive DA under the existing formula until the new recommendations are finalised and implemented.

DA Revised Twice a Year The government revises DA twice annually:

First revision: March/April (effective January 1) Second revision: October/November (effective July 1) DA is paid to employees, while DR is paid to pensioners.

How DA Is Calculated Under the 7th Pay Commission framework, DA is calculated using the formula:

DA (%) = (12-month average CPI-IW – 261.42) ÷ 261.42 × 100

The CPI-IW data released by the government forms the basis for each revision.

Why This DA Hike Is Important 

Even though the expected increase is modest, the January 2026 DA revision carries added significance due to the transition to the 8th Pay Commission.

Typically, when a new pay commission is implemented, the prevailing DA is merged with basic pay and reset to zero. This makes the DA level before the transition an important factor in determining future salary and pension revisions.

NEWS TODAY 31.03.2026

 

MBBS limbo: BRD medical college 3 Students stuck for upto 20 years as NMC's 9-year cap clashes with MCI-era admissions

MEDICAL DIALOGUE

MBBS limbo: BRD medical college 3 Students stuck for upto 20 years as NMC's 9-year cap clashes with MCI-era admissions 

Written By : Adity SahaPublished On 27 Mar 2026 5:48 PM  |

 Updated On 27 Mar 2026 5:48 PM

Gorakhpur: While the National Medical Commission (NMC) rules now mandate that MBBS students must complete the course within 9 years from the date of admission, three students of BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, admitted during the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI) era have remained stuck in the course for over 20 years after failing in certain subjects.

Recently, the college released the results of one student following a High Court order, while two others are still awaiting their results.

The three students belong to the 1998, 2009 and 2010 batches and had enrolled in the MBBS course at BRD Medical College. However, due to failure to clear certain subjects in examinations, long delays in pending examinations, result declaration and regulatory hurdles, their academic progress remained stalled for over two decades.

According to the National Medical Commission Regulations, a student who joins the MBBS course must complete and pass the entire degree within 9 years from the date of admission. Apart from this, the commission also specified that the students shall not be allowed more than four attempts for the first year.

However, the admission of these three students falls under the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI) time, which was replaced by NMC in 2020 and did not strictly limit or specify the duration of the course. Because of this regulatory transition, the students are in academic limbo.

Until recently, one of the students approached the High Court seeking the release of his pending result, as per India Today media report. Acting on the court’s direction, the college declared the result, but the student failed again in two subjects. He has now been allowed to appear in supplementary examinations.

Meanwhile, the results of the other two students are still pending. According to college authorities, discussions are ongoing with the university, and official communication is underway to resolve the matter and declare the results.

Officials indicated that once the results of the remaining two students are released, they will either be declared to pass or allowed to appear in supplementary examinations, which could finally determine whether they can complete the course after years of uncertainty.

Speaking to India Today, BRD Medical College Principal Ramkumar Jaiswal said the institution is bound by the new regulations of the National Medical Commission (NMC).

Medical Dialogues had also reported that the BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, approached the National Medical Commission (NMC) seeking clear directions in an unusual case of an MBBS student who had remained in the first year for over 11 years after failing the exam in 2015.

NMC seeks anonymous feedback from MBBS students on teaching, training and campus support

 NMC seeks anonymous feedback from MBBS students on teaching, training and campus support

The NMC Secretary said an online “student feedback form” is being sought from Undergraduate Medical Students of Medical Colleges and Institutions under the purview of NMC.

Kavita Bajeli-Datt

Updated on:

29 Mar 2026, 5:00 pm

NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has sought feedback from MBBS students on various aspects of their medical education, including the quality of their lectures, faculty availability, clinical training, patient exposure, anti-ragging measures, student safety, and mental health support on their campuses.

The NMC has promised that these responses will be anonymous and confidential, and that they are being sought for academic review and quality improvement purposes.

In an advisory, NMC Secretary, Dr Raghav Langer, said an online “student feedback form” is being sought from Undergraduate Medical Students of Medical Colleges and Institutions under the purview of NMC.

“This feedback aims to gather your valuable anonymous feedback on various aspects of your medical College and medical education experience,” the advisory, dated March 26, said.

The form covers aspects such as quality of teaching and lectures, faculty availability and adequacy, clinical training and patient exposure, labs, dissection halls and practical training, community medicine and rural training, ragging and student safety, campus culture/student welfare, anti-ragging measures and grievance redressal, mental health support, extracurricular activities, curriculum, college administration and governance, etc.

“Your response will be anonymous and confidential. The feedback is being collected solely for internal academic review and quality improvement purposes,” said the advisory, addressed to all states, deans of all medical colleges, the medical education department of the Union Health Ministry, among others.

The online form can be accessed through the NMC website.

The NMC requested the MBBS students to “wholeheartedly participate in filling the online student feedback form.”

Speaking with this paper, Kerala-based RTI activist, KV Babu, said, “Getting feedback from the students is a welcome move. But the track record of NMC regarding follow-up action based on feedback is not very convincing. Few years back, NMC had done a survey about stipend for interns and PGs without any follow-up action. They didn't even disclose the names of medical colleges which took back the stipend from PGs.”

Fake FMGE certificate scam in Chhattisgarh? 3,000 doctors under medical council, NMC, DME scanner

MEDICAL DIALOGUE

Fake FMGE certificate scam in Chhattisgarh? 3,000 doctors under medical council, NMC, DME scanner 

Written By : Adity SahaPublished On 30 Mar 2026 2:12 PM  |  Updated On 30 Mar 2026 2:12 PM

Raipur: A suspected fake Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) certificate scam has come under the scanner as the certificates of over 3000 foreign-trained doctors in Chhattisgarh who obtained their MBBS degrees from countries in Central and East Asia are going to be investigated by the Chhattisgarh Medical Council with the support of the National Medical Commission and the state Directorate of Medical Education.

The investigation has been called after the authorities detected alleged irregularities in their qualifications and in the clearance of the Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG) examination.

The FMGE, conducted by the National Board of Examinations, is a mandatory screening test for Indian students who complete their MBBS abroad and want to practice in India.

After clearing the FMGE, such graduates are required to complete a one-year compulsory internship at a recognised government medical college or hospital. They are then granted registration by the National Medical Commission (NMC) for practice in India.

The suspicion came to light after officials found several foreign medical graduates using suspected forged FMGE certificates to secure internships in government hospitals across different states.

Medical Dialogues had reported that the Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) arrested 18 people, including a former registrar of the Rajasthan Medical Council (RMC), for allegedly helping unqualified candidates with registrations and internships with forged documents.

Among those arrested are the former RMC registrar and the former nodal officer. They were taken into custody along with 15 candidates who had obtained MBBS degrees from abroad but failed to clear the mandatory Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), which is required to practise in India, and thereby obtained fake certificates to practise here.

Additional Director General (SOG) Vishal Bansal alleged that the former RMC registrar is the key accused in the case. The accused used fake FMGE certificates to obtain provisional registrations from the council and secured internships in hospitals, by passing mandatory verification checks.

Preliminary findings suggest that each candidate paid between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh to be part of the racket. Out of this, around Rs 11 lakh per candidate was allegedly paid to RMC officials and staff, while the rest was shared among middlemen and agents.

In the past year, both the Chhattisgarh Medical Council (CMC) and the National Medical Commission (NMC) noticed serious gaps in the clinical knowledge of some foreign medical graduates during their internships in government hospitals across the state. According to officials, some interns had poor understanding of basic medical subjects, and a few could not even identify commonly used surgical instruments.

Following these revelations, the Chhattisgarh Medical Council (CMC), along with the National Medical Commission (NMC), launched a large-scale verification drive. They will now examine FMGE certificates, mark sheets and internship records of over 3,000 doctors across states.

Speaking to The Hitavada, CMC Vice-President Dr Vivek Choudhary said, "The council has launched a detailed verification exercise with the support of the NMC and the state Directorate of Medical Education. Authorities are currently scrutinising mark sheets, internship records and FMGE certificates of foreign medical graduates across the state as a part of the ongoing investigation."

Registrar of the CMC, Dr Rupal Purohit, said, "The situation is alarming as several graduates had allegedly not attended regular physical classes at their foreign medical institutions for extended periods. In some cases, degrees were reportedly completed largely through online examinations. Even among those who attended classes abroad, attendance levels were found to be extremely poor, with some students reportedly attending lectures only once or twice a week."

NEWS TODAY 30.03.2026