8th Pay Commission : More than 1.2 crore central employees and pensioners across the country are eagerly waiting for the 8th Pay Commission. Although the government had approved the formation of this commission on 16 January 2025, it has not been formally constituted yet. The chairman and members have not been decided yet nor has its Terms of Reference (ToR) been finalized.
Even after about six months, the situation remains the same, which makes it clear that now this commission will not be able to give its recommendations on time and the hope of implementation of the new salary from January 1, 2026 is also almost over. It may take 2 years for its implementation.
What do the previous pay commissions indicate?
If we look at the process and time period of 6th and 7th Pay Commission, it took an average of 2 to 2.5 years to prepare the report and implement it. The 6th Pay Commission was constituted on 5 October 2006. It submitted its report on 24 March 2008. The government implemented it with retrospective effect from 1 January 2006 and approved it in August 2008. It took about 1 year and 5 months to prepare the report and another 5 months to get it approved. The arrears were given to the employees in two installments.
7th Pay Commission
The 7th Pay Commission was formed on 28 February 2014. It submitted its report on 19 November 2015. It was implemented from 1 January 2016. The government approved it in June 2016. It took about 1 year and 9 months to prepare the report and 7 months to implement it. Arrears from January to June 2016 were paid.
8th Pay Commission
The 8th Pay Commission, which is currently being discussed the most, has not yet been formally formed. It is expected to be formed by the end of 2025 and the report may come by 2027 or 2028. If everything goes well, it can be implemented in 2028. It may take about one and a half years to prepare the report and 6 to 8 months to implement it. But since neither the chairman has been decided nor the Terms of Reference (ToR) have been finalized, its process is incomplete and it is difficult to say anything for sure.
When can the 8th Pay Commission be implemented?
This means that if the 8th Pay Commission is constituted in late 2025 or early 2026, its report may come by 2027 or 2028. It may take another 6–8 months to be implemented. That is, the new salary may be implemented in 2028. Even if the government implements it from January 1, 2026 and pays the arrears.
How much can the salary increase?
The most discussed topic is the Fitment Factor, which decides how much the current salary will increase. If the Fitment Factor is fixed between 1.92x to 2.86x, then the current minimum wage of Rs 18,000 can be increased to Rs 51,000. Similarly, pensioners are likely to get additional benefits under Dearness Relief and New Pension Scheme. But until the government forms a commission and the ToR is decided, everything is just speculation.