The government has set aside Rs. 110 billion to carry out the final phase of the public sector salary increase introduced in 2025, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in the 2027 Budget speech on Thursday.
The Budget also proposes higher allowances for several groups of state employees and an extra monthly payment for some pensioners.
Doctors would see the DAT allowance rise from Rs. 70,000 to Rs. 95,000. The special duty allowance for nurses and paramedical staff would double from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 12,000, and university academics would receive Rs. 25,000 more in their monthly academic allowance.
Police officers would get an additional Rs. 10,000 a month for food and accommodation. Prison officers’ risk allowance would double from Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 16,000, and the travelling allowance for Grama Niladharis would rise from Rs. 1,600 to Rs. 4,000.
The transport allowance for eligible executive officers would double from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 100,000. The daily food allowances of the armed forces would also be increased. Pensioners who retired between 2020 and 2024 would receive an additional interim allowance of Rs. 2,500 a month.
Most of the allowance increases would take effect in April or July 2027. Some would be introduced in two phases, with the remaining portion paid in 2028, according to the Budget proposals.
Newswire, a Sri Lankan news website, separately reported that the government plans to recruit about 110,000 additional employees to the public service to fill vacancies.
Background
The salary revision referred to in the Budget was introduced in 2025. The Rs. 110 billion is the allocation for its final phase, which the President said is to be carried out under the 2027 Budget.
Sri Lanka’s public sector pay has been a recurring subject of Budget debate, with state employees and pensioners among the groups most affected by changes in the cost of living. An interim allowance is a payment added on top of a basic pension or salary and is separate from the revision of the salary scale itself.
Budget proposals are statements of government policy. The spending allocations are approved through Parliament, and the details of each allowance, including who is eligible, are usually set out later in circulars from the relevant ministries and the Public Administration authorities.
What it means
For state employees in the listed categories, the proposals would mean higher monthly pay from April or July 2027, depending on the allowance. In cases where the increase is split into two phases, the full amount would not be paid until 2028.
Pensioners who retired between 2020 and 2024 would be entitled to the extra Rs. 2,500 a month if the proposal is implemented as announced. Employees who are not in the named categories should wait for official circulars to learn whether they are covered.
Because the Budget gives only the headline figures, the exact payment dates and eligibility rules are expected to be confirmed in the formal circulars that follow.
