Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel, on the occasion of India's 76th Independence Day on Monday, announced a 3% hike in the dearness allowance (DA) for state government employees under the 7th Pay Commission, with retrospective effect from January 1, 2022. The hike will benefit around 9.38 lakh employees of the Gujarat government, panchayat service and pensioners, Patel added.