Constituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, the 8th Pay Commission is set to make big decisions on salary hikes and fitment factor, based on which updated compensation for central government employees and pensioners will be finalised.
The commission was announced in January last year, and its Terms of Reference (ToR) were issued in November. Since then, there has been much speculation over implementation of the salary hikes, arrears, amendments and proposed changes to pension structures.
Teachers' body makes demands: Here's all we know
The Pragatisheel Shikshak Nyaya Manch (PSNM), a body representing central government teachers (UTs, Kendriya Vidhyalaya and Navodaya Vidyalaya) and affiliated to All India NPS Employee Federation (AINPSEF), has made its demands the following in a memorandum last week, according to an Economic Times report. These are as following:
- Merging basic pay with dearness allowance (DA) when the component reaches 50%,
- Restoring Old Pension Scheme (OPS), and abolish National Pension System (NPS) and Unified Pension Scheme (UPS).
- Make One Rank One Pension (OROP) for civilian employees.
- Limit for death-cum-retirement-gratuity (DCRG) be increased from ₹25 lakh to ₹50 lakh, linked to DA.
- Assured promotions after every six, 12, 18 and 24 years.
- Raise retirement age of central government teachers from 60 to 65 years.
What is the 8th Pay Commission?
The Pay Commission is a government panel established every 10 years to revise pay, allowances and pensions of central government employees and retired former servicemen. It is also responsible for wider implications of these revisions on contributions, retirement benefits and government spending. The current panel is the eight such constituted by the central government since Independence.
How will the 8th Pay Commission make its decisions?
The 8th Pay Commission is chaired by Former Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash
Desai. Other members on the panel are Professor Pulak Ghosh, tenured Professor of Finance, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, as a Member of the Commission and Pankaj Jain, former IAS, as Member-Secretary.
The panel will gather views and inputs from employee unions, labour groups, ministries, pension bodies and other similar stakeholders; which will then be analysed to decide allowances, pension formula and salary structures for the relevant employee and retiree groups.
Discussions and feedback from stakeholders are also solicited before the Commission provides its final recommendations. Notably, it opened formal memorandum submissions and scheduled stakeholder consultations in March and April 2026.
Can central govt employees expect salary, pension hikes?
With the fitment factor reportedly under revision and likely to rise, salaries are also set to rise. The 8th Pay Commission salary hike will be decided on the basis of the fitment factor that will be suggested by the members of the CPC.
As many as 50 lakh central government employees, including defence personnel, and around 65 lakh retired central government pensioners, including defence retirees, could see basic salary rise to ₹51,480 from ₹18,000.
Besides salary hikes for employees, pension payouts for retired central government employees are also likely to increase proportional to the new basic pay structure.
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
