8th Pay Commission: Wait Over! Good News for Government Employees and Pensioners Coming Soon? Check Details

8th Pay Commission: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced last month that the new commission would be formed soon. It is expected to be constitituted most probably by the end of May 2025. Central government has already given its approval but the official formation of the panel is pending. The new commission will raise income of central employees and pensioners tremendously.

What is 8th Pay Commission?

The 8th Pay Commission will assess the current salary structure of government employees. As usual, the new pay panel is expected to suggest changes to increase the present pay structure. Over the years, the pay structure of central government employees has seen huge increases. 

Expectations from 8th Pay Commission

Expectations from the new commission are high for salary hikes, allowances, and pension benefits. Although there is no clear announcement, ongoing discussions are suggesting that this revision may provide significant changes such as the minimum pay and fitment factor. The Eighth Pay Commission may introduce an income hike of up to 50%. This will be based on the revised fitment factor, the range of which can be from 2.3 to 2.8. On approval of upper limit, an employee with a basic pay of ₹20,000 could get a salary between ₹46,000 and ₹56,000. The history evidences a continuous growth in salaries. Salary and pension both are expected to increase heavily.

Who Will Constitute the Commission? 

This commission can be expected to be similar of previous commissions. In the previous pay commissions, each panel was headed by a chairman (usually a retired Supreme Court judge or a senior bureaucrat). Along with chairman, the team normally involves economists and experts on government expenditure, pensions and allowances. The main objective of this team is to suggest to the government how much the pay should be increased and to calculate dearness allowance (DA) and fitment factor.

When Will 8th Commission be Implemented?

More than 36 lakh central government employees and pensioners are waiting it impatiently. As per report, once the commission is constituted, it will start functioning immediately. Expectations from the government to constitute the panel are by the end of May 2025. It will get enough time for implementations of recommendations before the end of term of the current pay commission on January 1, 2026.

Decision of Change in Pay Structure on the Base of Fitment Factor

The new salaries under the new commission will be on the base of 'fitment factor' which is a multiplier and is applied to the current basic pay. As per report, this factor may increase to 2.6 or more. If the fitment factor is increased to 3, the basic salary will be triple.

The new commission will benefit to lakhs of government employees and pensioners as their pay will be increased tremendously after its implementation.