8th pay commission: The Central Government approved the 8th Pay Commission on 16 January 2025. However, members of the Pay Commission have not yet been formed. However, now government employees and pensioners can soon get good news. Actually, the possibility of the formation of the 8th Pay Commission is being expressed soon. The same pay commission will submit its recommendation to the Central Government on the change in the fitment factor and salary-pension structure of the 8th Pay Commission.
According to reports, the 8th Pay Commission can be effective from 1 January 2026. The commission is expected to approve the Terms of Reference at the cabinet level soon. National Council – Joint Consultative Machinery Staff Side Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra said, “We hope that the government will soon approve Terms of Reference.” Terms of Reference (Tor) are the guidelines on which the Pay Commission works.
Employees-pensioners will get benefit
About 50 lakh central employees and 65 lakh pensioners are expected to benefit the 8th Pay Commission. It also includes employees associated with defense services. The Commission will recommend adjustment to the salary allowances, pension and dearness allowance (DA) of the central employees.
How much salary is expected to increase?
Under the 8th Pay Commission, the fitment factor is expected to range from 1.92 to maximum 2.86. Accordingly, the minimum basic salary of central employees can be up to ₹ 51,480, which is currently ₹ 18,000. According to the report, this increment may be applicable from April 2026. However, no official announcement has been made by the government in this regard.
What is a fitment factor?
The fitment factor is a coefficient, which is multiplied by the current minimum basic salary. Based on this, a new salary structure is fixed. For example, the minimum salary in the Sixth Pay Commission was Rs 7,000 a month. It was increased to Rs 18,000 per month in the 7th Pay Commission. This means that the fitment factor in the 7th Pay Commission was 2.57. This led to a rise of 14.2 per cent in the salary of central employees.
What is the role of Pay Commission?
The government forms a pay commission every ten years. Its job is to make a comprehensive review of the salary structure of the employees. This includes factor such as inflation, economic conditions, income inequality. The Commission also recommends bonus, allowances and other service regional benefits.
At present, the Central Government is giving salary and pension according to the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. It was formed by the then Manmohan Singh government in 2014. Its recommendations came into effect from 1 January 2016. Now official notification is being awaited by the Central Government regarding the formation of the 8th Pay Commission.
Also read: 8th Pay Commission: How long will the 8th Pay Commission be applied, how will salary structure be?