8th Pay Commission Updates: The tenure of the Seventh Pay Commission is going to end on 31 December 2025, hence there is both curiosity and confusion regarding the Eighth Pay Commission among lakhs of central employees and pensioners of the country. There is a general belief that the new pay commission will be considered effective from January 1, 2026, but till now no formal announcement has been made by the government regarding salary increase, fitment factor or arrears.
When will the salary increase?
If we look at the experience of previous pay commissions, it is almost certain that there remains a gap between the effective date and actual payment. For example, the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission were considered effective from January 2016, but Cabinet approval was received in June 2016 and the payment of arrears also took place in a phased manner much later.
In the current situation, the Finance Ministry has given about 18 months time to the Eighth Pay Commission to give its recommendations, so it is estimated that the final report of the Commission may come by mid-2027. This means that even if the new pay commission is considered effective from January 1, 2026, there may be a delay in the increased salary and arrears reaching the accounts of the employees.
Delay in seventh pay commission also
Only guesses are being made regarding the size of salary increase. While in the Seventh Pay Commission the fitment factor was 2.57 and there was an average increase of 23 to 25 percent, in the Sixth Pay Commission the increase was around 40 percent. On the basis of this comparison, employees are expecting that the increase in the eighth pay commission may be better than last time, although it will completely depend on the financial condition of the government, inflation rate and economic priorities.
Overall, central employees will have to be mentally prepared that even if the new pay commission is announced, it may take time to get the increased salary and arrears, as has been seen earlier also.
Also read: After the huge crisis on IndiGo, now know whose eyes will be on its operations round the clock.
