8th Pay Commission Update: No Salary Hike in Budget 2026, Delay Likely Till 2027

8th Pay Commission: The 8th Pay Commission was the biggest hope for the country’s approximately 11.9 million central government employees and pensioners in the budget presented on February 1, 2026. Everyone expected Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to perform a masterstroke of salary hikes this time, but the lack of a direct mention of this in the budget speech has left millions in a state of suspense.

Employees already facing the brunt of inflation are now worried whether the government is preparing to postpone the 8th Pay Commission until 2027. The Establishment Expenditure figures revealed in Budget 2026 tell a similar story.

Budget 2026 Figures

The Establishment Expenditure figures, which detail the government’s total expenditures in the budget, have surprised experts. Establishment expenditure for the financial year 2026-27 has been estimated at ₹8,24,114 crore, an increase of only ₹41,413 crore from last year’s ₹7,82,701 crore.

Experts believe that this modest increase in expenditure is only sufficient to pay the salaries of newly appointed employees and the twice-yearly dearness allowance (DA). Implementing any new pay commission requires a significant amount of funding for the government, for which no separate provision was made in this budget. This clearly indicates that the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission in this financial year appears highly unlikely.

When will the final report be released?

Central employees are wondering: if the announcement was made in 2025, why is there a delay? Indeed, there are technical and constitutional reasons behind this. The government announced the formation of the 8th Pay Commission on January 15, 2025, but its official gazette notification was issued almost 10 months later, on October 28, 2025.

This notification clearly states that the Commission will have 18 months to prepare its recommendations and a detailed report. If we add 18 months to October 2025, the Commission’s report is expected around July 2027. Even after the report is submitted, it takes time for the government to consider it and obtain Cabinet approval. This means that the increased salary will only be reflected in your account in mid-2027 or early 2028.

Fitment Factor and Employee Demands

Given rising inflation, employee organizations are adamant on demanding a fitment factor of 3.68 to ensure a respectable increase in the minimum basic salary. Currently, employees are receiving salaries based on a fitment factor of 2.57. Employees hope that their minimum salary could increase from ₹18,000 to ₹26,000 or more when the new commission takes office.

However, Budget 2026 indicates that the government is currently adopting a “wait and watch” approach. Until the commission submits its final report, there is little hope for any major changes to the salary structure. Currently, the government’s primary focus is on timely updating the dearness allowance (DA) every six months to maintain employees’ purchasing power.