The Uttar Pradesh government has announced a 5 per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees ahead of Diwali. With this revision, the DA rate has increased from 58 per cent to 63 per cent, providing financial relief to lakhs of eligible employees across the state.

The revised allowance will be effective from July 1, 2026, according to the government announcement. A government order was also issued on Saturday, November 7.

The enhanced DA will be paid along with employees’ regular November 2026 salaries.

Which employees will benefit from the DA hike?

The decision covers regular state government employees and several other categories of eligible staff.

These include employees of aided educational and technical institutions, regular and full-time employees of urban local bodies, work-charged employees and personnel drawing salaries under University Grants Commission (UGC) pay scales.

The revision is expected to benefit a large section of the Uttar Pradesh workforce ahead of the festive season.

What happens to the DA arrears?

The revised DA rate will apply retrospectively from July 1, 2026. Consequently, employees will also be entitled to arrears for the period preceding the November salary payment.

The government has made provisions for the payment of the arrears for July to October 2026. These amounts will be credited to employees’ provident fund accounts, according to the reported payment arrangements.

The enhanced allowance for November will be reflected in the regular salary for that month.

The decision comes ahead of Diwali and will provide additional financial relief to eligible government employees in Uttar Pradesh.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the state government would bring before the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court a threat by a group to gherao his residence in connection with the Zubeen Garg death case.

Speaking to reporters, Sarma described the threat as a serious matter, saying it posed a danger to his family and could amount to a direct attempt to murder.

The development comes ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on November 30 of the bail petitions filed by Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddhartha Sharma, the two prime accused in the case.

Why Himanta Sarma plans to approach the courts

Sarma said he had instructed the state government’s legal department to bring the matter to the notice of both the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court.

The Chief Minister objected to the group threatening to target his residence rather than holding a protest near the Chief Minister’s Office.

He said those questioning the judicial process should approach the Supreme Court or the high court instead of targeting him. Sarma also maintained that the courts should be allowed to carry out their work.

According to him, attempts to question the judicial process in this manner could obstruct the path of justice.

What the group said about the bail pleas

The Zubeen Garg Nyay Samiti, led by Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi, had announced on Thursday that it would gherao the Chief Minister’s residence under certain circumstances.

The group said it would carry out the protest if Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddhartha Sharma were granted bail or if the Assam government failed to mount an effective legal opposition to their bail pleas.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the bail petitions of the two accused on November 30.

Bail granted to two accused in the case

The Gauhati High Court granted bail to singer Amritprava Mahanta, an accused in the Zubeen Garg death case, on October 9. She was granted bail against a bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of the same amount.

The high court has also granted bail to Sandipan Garg in the case.

Referring to the bail order concerning Amritprava Mahanta, Sarma said it mentioned that 160 witnesses had not named her during the court hearing, despite having done so during the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Responding to questions over the development, Sarma said the witnesses should be questioned about the discrepancy rather than him.

What happened to Zubeen Garg?

Singer Zubeen Garg died in Singapore on September 19 last year while swimming in the sea.

Police in Singapore had said that no foul play was involved in his death. Garg had travelled to Singapore to attend the fourth edition of the North East India Festival (NEIF).

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has stepped up his criticism of the Centre over the E20 petrol issue, alleging that consumers could be paying for petrol while receiving fuel containing more ethanol than the prescribed 20 per cent level.

In a post on X on Saturday, Mr Gandhi referred to the issue as “petrol chori” and cited test results from petrol samples collected by the Karnataka government.

He said the government maintains that petrol contains 20 per cent ethanol, but alleged that testing of samples from seven Karnataka districts showed higher levels in several cases. 

Rahul Gandhi cites Karnataka petrol test results

According to the figures cited by Mr Gandhi, 11 of 14 samples tested contained more than 20 per cent ethanol. He highlighted results of 31.2 per cent for an IOCL sample and 30.5 per cent for an HPCL sample.

He also named IOCL, HPCL, BPCL, Nayara and Shell while alleging that samples from both government-owned and private companies exceeded the 20 per cent level. These are allegations based on the tests cited by Gandhi and the Karnataka government, rather than an independently established finding covering all petrol sold by these companies. 

The samples were reportedly collected from areas including Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Mangaluru and Tumakuru and tested at the Shriram Research Institute in Bengaluru. 

What Rahul Gandhi said about ‘petrol chori’

Mr Gandhi used the phrase “E20 turned into 420” in his post, linking the reference to Section 420 of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code, which dealt with cheating.

He questioned the Centre over the actual ethanol content of petrol and asked when action would be taken against companies that, according to the allegations, supplied fuel containing more than 20 per cent ethanol.

He also argued that excessive ethanol blending could affect vehicle performance, including mileage and maintenance costs, and questioned why fuel stations do not disclose the actual ethanol content of the petrol being sold. 

Oil companies dispute Karnataka findings

The three state-run oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation — have disputed the Karnataka government’s findings.

The companies said the reported results were not supported by testing carried out according to the prescribed statutory and technical procedures. They maintained that E20 petrol supplied through their retail networks conforms to the Bureau of Indian Standards’ IS 17021 specifications, which prescribe an ethanol range of 19-21 per cent.

The companies have also questioned aspects of the sampling and testing process and sought access to the relevant samples and documentation for independent testing.

Rahul Gandhi reiterates debate challenge

Mr Gandhi also reiterated his challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an open debate, saying the ethanol-blending issue could be included along with the other issues he has been raising.

His latest remarks come amid a political exchange over the Karnataka government’s allegations concerning ethanol levels in petrol and the oil companies’ rejection of those findings.