8th Pay Commission – Central government employees and pensioners have many questions regarding the delay in implementing the Eighth Pay Commission. Following its announcement by the central government in January, revised salaries and pensions were expected to begin in January 2026. However, nine months later, the commission has not been formed, nor has its chairman or members been selected, nor has its terms of reference been finalized. Experts believe it could take one and a half to two years to implement.
Last week, the Union Cabinet announced a hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners. But the Cabinet has not given any update on the official formation of the 8th Pay Commission. Lakhs of central government employees and pensioners are still waiting for this.
It is being said that if the 8th Pay Commission process is completed on time, the new pay structure could be implemented from July 2027. These processes include the official formation of the 8th Pay Commission and the submission of a possible revised pay hike. It is being said that employees will also get 18 months of arrears of salary.
The 8th Pay Commission was announced in January 2025. Its announcement and subsequent processes are still pending. This includes the constitution of the 8th Pay Commission. The main reason for the delay in the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission is said to be the non-approval of the Terms of Reference (ToR). The processes of the 8th Pay Commission will begin only after this is approved.
Generally, pay commissions come into effect once in 10 years. The recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission expire in December 2025. Accordingly, the next pay commission, the 8th Pay Commission, should come into effect from January 2026. However, the work of the 8th Pay Commission has been very slow. Therefore, the implementation of the next Pay Commission from January 2026 is expected to be very difficult. If the 8th Pay Commission is implemented in July 2027, employees will be able to get 18 months of arrears. Government employees and pensioners are expected to get a pay hike and an additional 18 months of arrears from July 2027.
Recently, the much-awaited DA hike for July 2025 under the 7th Pay Commission was approved with a 3% increase and last week, the DA was increased from 55% to 58%. This revision, made before Diwali, is the last DA increase under the 7th Pay Commission. The recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission will be valid from January 2026. More than 1.2 crore employees and pensioners of the country will benefit from this increase before this Diwali.