8th Pay Commission: More than 1 crore employees and pensioners of the central government are eagerly waiting for the news related to the 8th Pay Commission. Everyone was hoping that the good news of salary hike would be received soon, but now it seems that this benefit is not going to be received soon. According to reports, it may take till the end of 2027 or early 2028 for the recommendations of the commission to be implemented.
Why is there a delay?
From the experience of the 7th Pay Commission, it is estimated that this process will be long. At that time, it took about 2 years and 9 months from the formation of the commission to the implementation of the recommendations. This is the reason why it is believed that the recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission announced in January 2025 are difficult to be implemented in 2026.
Progress so far
The government had certainly announced the formation of the commission in January 2025, but its Terms of Reference (ToR) i.e. the guidelines for functioning and the name of the chairperson or members have not been decided yet. More than six months have passed and this delay is pushing the entire process further.
What does the government say?
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Rajya Sabha that the government has received many suggestions in this matter. Its official notification will be issued soon. He assured that the commission will submit its report within the stipulated time frame, but this time frame will be revealed only after the ToR is decided.
The 7th Pay Commission was implemented in 2016 and its effect was seen in the salary from 1 January 2016. A new commission is formed every 10 years, according to this, the 8th commission was to come in 2024-25. But this time the delay is increasing. Amidst rising inflation, both employees and pensioners are worried about when they will get salary revision.
When will you get the benefit?
Reports say that even if the government completes the process related to the commission soon, it is difficult for the new recommendations to be implemented before the beginning of 2028. Although it is not necessary that the timeline of the 8th Pay Commission be exactly like the 7th Commission, but there is a possibility of delay.
