8th Pay Commission: 10 out of 18 months finished, 56% time passed; Know how far the preparations have reached and when the new salary will come into the account.

The wait for the 8th Central Pay Commission for central employees and pensioners is becoming more anxious with each passing day. Historically, each Pay Commission has been given a standard time of 18 months by the Central Government to prepare its detailed recommendations and submit the final report to the Central Government. If we estimate the timeline of 18 months of normal functioning, then about 10 months i.e. 55 to 56 percent of the cycle time has passed.

Despite this, formal notification of the official Chairman of the Commission, full appointment of members and Terms of Reference (ToR) has not been issued yet. This administrative delay has increased the heart rate of more than one crore serving central employees, railway personnel, defense personnel and pensioners. According to Finance Ministry sources, preliminary data compilation, financial impact assessment from various ministries and scrutiny of memorandums of the National Council of JCM are underway internally, but the proposal for formal formation of the commission is at the threshold of final Cabinet approval.

The entire process of implementation of any Central Pay Commission passes through four major stages:

1. Formation and Declaration of Terms of Reference (ToR): The Union Cabinet approves the names of the Chairman (often a retired Supreme Court judge) and members of the Commission. Also the scope and terms of the commission are notified.

2. Stakeholders consultation and memorandum: The Commission invites memorandums from various employee unions, departments, state governments and economists and holds detailed discussions.

3. Draft recommendations and submission of report: After studying all the aspects, inflation and burden on the government exchequer, the report is submitted to the government.

4. Final Cabinet approval and gazette notification: The government forms a review committee headed by the Expenditure Secretary on the recommendations, after which the Cabinet implements it with amendments.

The biggest question regarding salary increase is its effective date. The 10-year traditional cycle of pay commissions is scheduled to begin from January 1, 2026, as the 7th Pay Commission came into effect from January 1, 2016. Even though it may take mid or late 2026 for the Commission’s recommendations to be formalized and Cabinet approval to be given, the revised basic pay and pension has been implemented with retrospective effect from January 1, 2026.

This simply means that if the government issues a gazette notification implementing the Commission’s recommendations even in late 2026 or early 2027, then the entire arrears from January 1, 2026, till the date of implementation, will be given to the employees and pensioners as lump sum arrears. Even at the time of the 7th Pay Commission, the recommendations were implemented late, but the arrears were paid on time.

In the 8th Pay Commission, ‘Fitment Factor’ will be the main basis for actual increase in the salary of employees. A fitment factor of 2.57x was given in the 7th Pay Commission, due to which the minimum basic pay increased from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000 per month.

Representatives of various employee organizations and JCM are currently demanding a fitment factor ranging from 2.86x to 3.0x, while financial analysts in the Finance Ministry believe that a fitment factor between 2.28x to 2.57x would be most practical to balance the fiscal deficit:

• At 2.28x fitment factor: Minimum basic salary increased from Rs 18,000 to approx. Rs 41,040 Will be done.

• At 2.57x fitment factor: Minimum basic wage will increase directly Rs 46,260 Will reach the level of.

• At 2.86x fitment factor: jumping to minimum basic Rs 51,480 Will reach.

Along with the amendment in the basic salary, major amendments will also be automatically registered in House Rent Allowance (HRA), Transport Allowance (TPTA) and Children’s Education Allowance (CEA). At the same time, when the new pay scale is implemented, Dearness Allowance (DA) will be reset to zero.

National Council (Staff Side) JCM has submitted a strongly worded memorandum to the Cabinet Secretary and the Finance Ministry regarding the delay in the formation of the Pay Commission. The unions argue that in view of retail inflation, rising cost of living and rise in prices of essential commodities after the Covid period, there should be no further delay in the formation of the commission.

The unions have warned that if a formal notification is not issued soon, nationwide protests and phased agitation will be planned. It is expected that during or just before the upcoming Parliament session, the government can provide major relief to the employees by announcing the official structure of the 8th Pay Commission and the name of the Chairman.