8th Central Pay Commission: In January 2025, the central government gave in-principle approval to the 8th Central Pay Commission, but even after seven months, its official notification has not been issued. Due to this delay, about one crore central government employees and pensioners across the country are waiting anxiously.
Responding to a question asked in the Rajya Sabha on August 12, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary clarified that the notification would be issued “at the appropriate time”. He was answering a question by Samajwadi Party MP Javed Ali Khan.
Consideration from ministries, but the process is incomplete
The minister told the House that letters were written to the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), and all the states on January 17 and February 17, 2025, to send their suggestions on the Terms of Reference. So far, opinions are being received from various departments, and the notification will be issued only after finalizing them.
The government says that as soon as the official notification is issued, the chairman and members of the commission will be appointed immediately. At this time, the government has not given any fixed date for the timeline of appointments and formation.
Speculations about a salary hike intensify
The most discussed topic about the 8th Pay Commission is the fitment factor. According to media reports, the government can fix the fitment factor between 1.8 to 2.86. This is the number that will directly become the scale for the increase in salary or pension of employees and pensioners.
Under the 7th Pay Commission, the minimum basic salary is Rs 18,000, and the minimum pension is Rs 9,000. Along with this, employees and pensioners are also getting 55 percent dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR). But when the new commission comes into force, DA / DR will start from zero, which will be further revised every six months.
Possible structure of the new salary
If the fitment factor is kept at 1.8, then the minimum salary of employees can be Rs 32,400, and the minimum pension of pensioners can be Rs 16,200. At the same time, if the factor goes up to 2.86, then the minimum wage can reach Rs 51,480, and the minimum pension can reach Rs 25,740. This increase can bring a big change in the financial condition of lakhs of families.
Increasing pressure from employee organizations
Meanwhile, the organizations of central employees have started putting pressure on the government. The “Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers” has written a letter to the Cabinet Secretary and announced a demonstration during the lunch break on August 20 across the country.
They have two main demands: to end the delay in the formation of the 8th Pay Commission and to remove the pension-related uncertainties related to the Finance Bill. The organization says that this demonstration is only a warning, and if the demands are not met, the scope of the movement will be increased.
The wait is long, and the expectations are also high
Despite the repeated references to the “appropriate time” from the government, the expectations and questions of the employees are increasing. For lakhs of pensioners, this decision will bring a direct improvement in their monthly income, while for employees, it is related to their future security.
Now all eyes are on when the government issues the notification and when the new commission starts working. At present, the 8th Central Pay Commission is not just a government process, but also a decision that directly affects the daily lives of crores of Indian families.