Big update on 8th Pay Commission. With the announcement of the 8th Pay Commission, there were hopes it would kick off on January 1, 2026. But the government hasn’t shared any details about its terms and conditions yet. While the Budget 2025 included several proposals for taxpayers, it didn’t touch on the costs associated with rolling out the 8th Pay Commission, sparking rumors about possible delays.
On another note, Expenditure Secretary Manoj Goel has made it clear that the Eighth Pay Commission won’t affect the financial year 2025-26. He mentioned that the Union Cabinet needs to approve the commission’s terms, and they’ll also consult the Department of Personnel and Training and the Ministry of Defense.
What are the experts saying? Rohitashv Sinha, a partner at King Stubb & Kasiva, shared with Economic Times that the 8th Pay Commission’s implementation will start in 2026, right after the 7th Pay Commission wraps up. He noted that these pay commissions have become a regular 10-year cycle for reviewing the pay structure of central government employees.
While it seems unlikely that the 8th Pay Commission will be in place by January 1, 2026, the timeline suggests that recommendations from the 8th Pay Commission will indeed roll out in 2026.
Rachel Patel, a partner at Gandhi Law Associates, explains that historically, pay commissions tend to take about a year to finalize their recommendations. This suggests that implementation could potentially start on January 1, 2026. However, the absence of budget allocations creates uncertainty about whether the financial implications can be managed within the existing fiscal framework.
Additionally, the expenditure secretary’s comment indicating that the financial impact will be realized starting in FY 2026-27 implies that any necessary fiscal adjustments may be postponed. This could lead to either a gradual implementation or a later start altogether.