amil Nadu CM Vijay on Thursday announced a 2 per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for Tamil Nadu government employees and teachers. With this revision, the DA will rise from 58 per cent to 60 per cent, effective from January 1, 2026, according to an official statement.

The DA hike is expected to place an additional annual financial burden of Rs 1,230 crore on the state government. The Chief Minister’s Office also shared the announcement on social media.

It wrote, “Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Thiru. S. Joseph Vijay announces that the dearness allowance, currently at 58 percent for government officials and teachers, will be increased to 60 percent effective from 01.01.2026”.

The official release stated that the Tamil Nadu government will allocate the additional funds required for the Dearness Allowance (DA) hike, highlighting its commitment to the welfare of government employees, teachers, pensioners and family pensioners.

It also noted that Vijay has promised to introduce and implement several welfare schemes for the public, while recognising the important role played by government employees and teachers in effectively carrying out these initiatives.

‘Government of the Common People’: Vijay

Vijay said his administration would function as a “government of the common people” and would uphold “social justice, equal opportunity, and secularism.”

The government further announced that the monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 for women beneficiaries will continue without interruption until the new administration increases the amount to the promised Rs 2,500.

Meeting Held on Welfare Assistance

Vijay also chaired a meeting with the Finance Secretary and senior Secretariat officials to ensure that the Rs 1,000 assistance scheme, launched during the previous M. K. Stalin-led DMK government, is credited to beneficiaries’ bank accounts on Friday.