8th Pay Commission: On Monday, the central government revealed that there are 5.014 million government employees and around 6.9 million pensioners. This indicates that once the 8th Central Pay Commission (8th CPC) is put into action, about 11.9 million current and former government employees will see benefits. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary shared this info in a written response in the Lok Sabha on December 8, 2025.

Questions on effective date and ToR

MPs N.K. Premachandran, Thanga Tamilselvan, Ganapathy Rajkumar P., and Dharmendra Yadav brought up questions in Parliament concerning the implementation date of the 8th Pay Commission, Terms of Reference (ToR), budget allocations, discussions with employee unions, and the government’s strategies to tackle pensioners’ issues.

The government mentioned that the implementation date for the 8th Pay Commission will be determined later. The commission is expected to submit its report within 18 months from when it is formed.

The government gave assurances regarding funding

The central government assured that it would provide sufficient funds to carry out the accepted recommendations of the 8th CPC. Additionally, the government plans to create its own processes and methods for the commission to formulate its recommendations.

8th CPC: What has happened so far?

The notification for the 8th Pay Commission’s ToR was released on November 3, 2025. It has been forty-one days since then. The Commission will now assess the basic pay structure, pensions, allowances, and other benefits. Moreover, there will be adjustments in the fitment factor, which is crucial for determining uniform changes in the basic pay scale for all employees.

The Finance Ministry has already clarified that the 8th Pay Commission will make recommendations on all issues related to salaries, allowances, and pensions. MPs had asked whether pension revisions would be included and whether the government was considering merging DA-DR with basic pay.

There is no proposal to merge DA and DR

The government stated in the Lok Sabha that there is currently no proposal to merge DA or DR into basic pay. This information comes at a time when several employee unions have been demanding DA merger. DA and DR have been increased from 55% to 58% effective October 1, 2025. Arrears for July to September 2025 will be paid in the October salary. DA and DR are calculated every six months based on the AICIP-IW index.

What will happen after the 7th CPC is over?

When a new pay commission is implemented, DA is typically incorporated into the new basic pay and starts over from zero. With the 7th CPC set to expire on December 31, 2025, employees want a clear indication of whether DA will continue as per the current formula or be paused until the 8th CPC is implemented.