8th Pay Commission… When employees hear this term, they immediately start calculating their expected salary increase. Till now, most people believed that when the 8th Pay Commission is implemented on January 1, 2026, all the Dearness Allowance (DA) up to that date would be added to the basic pay. After that, the new salary would be calculated by applying the fitment factor on it.
But now, there seems to be a big twist in this matter. According to sources and experts, the government may not merge the entire 60-61% DA. Instead, only 50% DA might be added to the basic pay. If this happens, the entire calculation of your salary will change. Why is this change being considered and what does it mean for you? Let’s understand this in detail.
Big Change in 8th Pay Commission Rules
When employees hear the term 8th Pay Commission, they start calculating their expected salary hike. Till now, most people believed that when the 8th Pay Commission is implemented on January 1, 2026, all the Dearness Allowance (DA) till that date will be added to the basic pay and then the fitment factor will be applied. But now there is a big twist. According to experts, the government may not merge the entire 60-61% DA. Instead, only 50% DA may be added to the basic salary. If this happens, it will change the entire calculation of your salary.
Why Only 50% DA May Be Merged
There is an old rule that when DA reaches 50%, it should be merged with the basic pay. DA had reached 50% in January 2024, but the government did not merge it then. Experts believe this was kept pending for the 8th Pay Commission. The main reason is financial control. If 61% DA is merged, the basic salary will increase a lot, and allowances like HRA and TA will also increase. This will put a huge burden on the government. By merging only 50%, this burden will be controlled.
Another reason is that the base year for DA calculation may change from 2016 to 2026. If this happens, DA will start again from zero. This makes it easy for the government to merge only 50% DA. Changing the base year is like resetting the game because spending patterns and inflation items have changed in the last 10 years.
The process will be like this: by January 1, 2026, DA will be around 60-61%, but only 50% may be merged. After that, DA will start again from zero, and future DA will be calculated on the new basic salary. This will still benefit employees because future DA will be on a bigger basic salary, which means faster growth in pay.
The 8th Pay Commission is expected to start from January 1, 2026. The panel may be formed by the end of 2025, and the report can come by March 2027. Salary will increase for sure, but the exact amount depends on these new rules.