New fitment factor in 8th Pay Commission may hike minimum salary to ₹34,560-₹37,440: Report

NC-JCM is a consultative platform for dialogue between the government and its employees to resolve issues and improve the efficiency of public services.

However, a new report by News24 quoting former finance secretary of India, Subhash Chandra Garg, says such a fitment factor hike of 2.86% will be "impossible to get."

The report quoted Garg as saying the 8th CPC will consider employees' basic pay and dearness allowance (DA) to determine the fitment factor.

Currently, the DA provided to central government employees is 53% of the basic salary. Two more instalments of DA would be pending by January 1, 2026, i.e. the date by which the 8th CPC recommendations may be implemented.

If the government provides just 3.5% DA hikes each in the next two revisions, then the DA of central government employees would reach around 60% of basic pay.

Expected salary hike

The real pay hike the 7th pay commission offered was just 14%. The 7th CPC had also recommended a fitment factor of 2.57, raising the minimum salary from ₹7000 to ₹18,000.

The News24 report quoted Garg as saying that the actual fitment factor hike in 8th CPC may be in the range of 1.92-2.08.

If Garg's estimate comes true then the minimum salary of central government employees may increase from ₹18,000 to ₹34,560 (assuming a 1.92 fitment factor) or ₹37,440 (assuming a 2.08 fitment factor).