8th Pay Commission: Implementation from Jan 2026? What govt, employee forum have said

Scores of government employees and pensioners are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the 8th Pay Commission, which will be a Centre-appointed panel that will recommend the fitment factor for the revision of their salaries, pensions and allowances.

The government made no announcement related to the 8th Pay Commission in the Union Budget for financial year 2024-25 rolled out last month. In response to queries raised in the Parliament, the Ministry of Finance clarified that the government is currently not considering any proposal for the pay panel.

However, Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary confirmed that two representations were received for the constitution of the commission in June 2024.

What's the likely implementation date?

Following the Budget, Finance Secretary TV Somanathan told a news channel that there is time for 8th Pay Commission to come into effect.

"8th Pay Commission is due on January 1, 2026. We are currently in 2024. There is time for it," Somanathan said, in an interview with_ NDTV_.

Normally, the pay commissions are formed once in 10 years for an overall revision in the remuneration of government employees. The last such panel, 7th Pay Commission, was constituted in February 2014 and its recommendations were implemented from January 1, 2016.

Since the 7th Pay Commission was announced two years before its recommendations were implemented, speculations were rife that the 8th Pay Commission would also be formed in 2024.

Two of the top bodies representing employees and pensioners -- the National Council (Staff Side), Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) and the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers -- had written to the Union Cabinet Secretary ahead of the Budget seeking an expedited announcement for the formation of the 8th Pay Commission.

Notably, the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government went into elections in March 2014, following the interim budget presented on February 28, 2014. The announcement of the 7th Pay Commission was made during the interim budget.

"What happened in 2014 was unusual...The announcement was made as part of a pre-election budget," the finance secretary noted.

What employee unions expect

On being asked about his key expectations, Mishra said their demand is for a fitment factor of 3.68 to revise the basic salaries of government employees. This would result in a basic minimum wage of around ₹26,000.