8th Pay Commission: With no possible sight to the formation of the Pay Panel, several murmurs are doing the round in online media. The latest one being, that central government employees will have to wait for prolonged period to see hike in pay revision. Here is all we know so far.
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More than 1.2 crore central government employees and pensioners are eagerly awaiting the formation of the 8th Pay Commission which will revise their salaries and pensions. Despite the government's approval on January 16, 2025, the Pay Commission has not been formally constituted. The Terms of Reference (ToR) and the appointment of the chairman and other important members have also not yet been completed.
The prospects for the Commission's implementation on January 1, 2026, appear bleak. While the tenure of the 7th Pay Commission ends on 31 December 2025, and the constitution of the new Commission is in limbo, employees are uncertain whether they will receive the benefits of the new pay scale on time.
The 8th Pay Commission will revise the pensions, allowances and salaries of central government employees and pensioners. It will also revise the Dearness Allowance as per inflation. The 8th Pay Commission benefits about 50 lakh central government employees, including defence personnel. It will also benefit around 65 lakh central government pensioners, including defence retirees.
The 7th Pay Commission was constituted in February 2014. It submitted its report in November 2015. It received Cabinet approval in June 2016 and was implemented from 1 January 2016. The recommendations were implemented retroactively and the arrears were paid in a phased manner. Looking at the process of the 7th commission, it is seen that it took an average of 2 to 2.5 years to prepare the report and implement it.
The Terms of Reference (ToR) which outline the scope and goals of the Commission are still pending. The central government employees and pensioners are eagerly awaiting the ToR for the new commission which will serve as the basis for salary and pension revisions. “We expect the Terms of Reference to get the government's nod soon. It should be approved at the earliest,” Secretary of the staff side of the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery Shiv Gopal Mishra recently said to the media.
The government has also not officially announced the appointment of the chairman and other members of the commission. A circular was released last month informing about the government’s proposal to fill various vacancies on a deputation basis.
The government is yet to provide an official announcement regarding the formation of the date of the 8th Pay Commission. The government has not yet published the Terms of Reference for the Commission. The government has also not disclosed any details on the percentage of salary hikes under the 8th Pay Commission. Although Budget 2025 included various proposals for taxpayers, it did not address the expenditures the Central government will incur in implementing the 8th Pay Commission.
The government on January 16 announced the approval of the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission. The Pay Commission is scheduled to be implemented from January 1, 2026. Given the current circumstances, if the commission is constituted in late 2025 or early 2026, the report will be completed by 2027 or 2028. Its implementation may take another 6 to 8 months. If that happens then the new recommendations will be implemented only by 2028.
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