8th Pay Commission- The Central Government has begun consultations with key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Personnel and Training and State Governments, as part of the process of setting up the 8th Central Pay Commission to revise the pay structure of around 50 lakh Central Government employees and 62 lakh pensioners.
With this, the focus of the employees has now shifted to the fitment factor, an important component of salary calculation. It is worth noting that the fitment factor plays an important role in determining how much the basic salary of a government employee will increase under the new pay commission framework.
What is the fitment factor?
The fitment factor is a numerical multiplier used to calculate the revised salary. It is applied to the existing basic pay to calculate the new basic pay under the Pay Commission. Employees get higher pay if a higher fitment factor is fixed for pay hike. For example, under the 7th Pay Commission, the fitment factor was 2.57 – which means the basic pay was increased by 2.57 times to achieve the new structure.
If the Eighth Pay Commission recommends a higher figure, the salary hike could be between 30 and 34 per cent, according to estimates in media reports. While there is no official statement on the new multiplier yet, the fitment factor will have a significant impact on take-home salary and pension calculations.
Why does take-home salary matter?
A higher basic salary also leads to higher allowances such as dearness allowance (DA), house rent allowance (HRA), and travel allowance. This means that a higher fitment factor not only increases the basic salary but also the total take-home income.
When will the 8th Pay Commission be implemented?
No official notification has been issued yet, but in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary said, “Suggestions have been sought from key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Personnel and Training and the states.”
He further said that the Chairman and members of the 8th Pay Commission would be appointed after the formal notification of the Commission is issued. According to a report, the Union Cabinet had approved the formation of the Eighth Pay Commission in January 2025 with the aim of revising the pay structure of about 50 lakh central government employees and allowances of about 65 lakh pensioners.
Replying to a question on when the revised pay scales would be implemented, Choudhary clarified, “It would be implemented only after the Eighth Pay Commission makes its recommendations and is accepted by the government.”