8th Pay Commission: Crores of government employees and pensioners across the country are eagerly waiting for the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission.
However, there has been no concrete progress since the 8th Pay Commission was officially approved in January 2025. This has upset the employees and pensioners a lot. However, now the Finance Ministry has finally broken its silence on the delay of the 8th Pay Commission.
The Finance Ministry has said that the appointment of its chairman and members will be done only after the notification of the Commission is issued. The ‘Terms of Reference (ToR)’ i.e. the working conditions to be decided for revision of salary and pension have not been decided yet. On the basis of these terms and conditions, the salary of about 1 crore central government employees and pensioners will be changed.
The government replied in the Lok Sabha
In the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary answered questions raised by MPs TR Balu and Anand Bhadoria. The MPs asked whether the government has issued the notification of the 8th Pay Commission announced in January 2026. The government also informed that inputs are being taken from the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Personnel and Training and different states for the formation of the commission.
The MPs also wanted to know when the members and chairman of the commission would be appointed. To this, the minister said that these appointments would be made only after the notification. On the question of the time frame for implementing the recommendations of the commission, he said that it would be implemented only when the commission gives its recommendations and the government accepts them.
Importance of 8th Pay Commission
The recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission were implemented from January 2016. Traditionally, a new pay commission is formed every 10 years. In such a situation, the appointment of the commission was expected in 2024–25 and the recommendations were expected to be implemented from 2026.
There is a demand for improvement in the salary of employees amid rising inflation and cost of living. Employee organizations argue that their purchasing power has been affected due to inflation. In view of this, the 8th Pay Commission will recommend amendments in aspects like salary as well as pension, allowances and minimum wage.
How much will the salary increase in the 8th pay commission
Financial services firm Ambit Capital’s report on the 8th Pay Commission says that a minimum increase of 14% and a maximum increase of 54% in salary is possible. It says that the new pay commission may recommend a fitment factor between 1.83 and 2.46 for employees.
However, the report clarifies that a 54% hike is very unlikely as it will put a lot of pressure on the government’s finances. Still, the government may consider a little higher salary hike to boost consumption, but it will not be a huge hike like the 6th Pay Commission.
