New Delhi: Central government employees are eagerly waiting for the 8th Pay Commission at this time . Expectations of possible salary hike and revised pension benefits are increasing.
Recently the government gave information related to this in Parliament. The Central Government has approved the formation of the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC). This commission will consider the salary structure of government employees and pensioners. The government assured that the process of change in salary will start only after the recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission are accepted by the government. The government has not yet given any fixed date as to when
the 8th Pay Commission will be implemented. But it is believed that it can be implemented from January 1, 2026. However, some experts say that there may be some delay in this. In such a situation, it may be implemented from April 1, 2026. The fitment factor for the 8th Pay Commission can be up to 2.86. ‘Fitment factor’ is an important number which determines the increase in government salary. To calculate the new basic salary, the existing basic salary is multiplied by the fitment factor. This shows how much the salary of the employees will increase.
Different factors
The fitment factor varies for different pay commissions. For example, the 7th Pay Commission had fixed a fitment factor of 2.57. This increased the minimum basic salary of central government employees from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000 per month. This time there is talk of keeping a higher fitment factor (up to 2.86). As soon as a pay commission ends, the dearness allowance (DA) becomes zero because the indexation is restarted.
Salary increased but DA became zero
The 7th Pay Commission introduced a fitment factor of 2.57, making the minimum basic salary Rs 18,000. However, DA was made zero at the start of the new commission. Hence, the actual increase in salary was 14.3% (Rs 18,000 more than the previous Rs 15,750). Including allowances, the total salary increased by 23% in the first year. The 6th Pay Commission (2006) had recommended a significant increase of about 54% in salary and allowances.
What will be the fitment factor?
Different information has come out about the fitment factor for the 8th Pay Commission. According to some experts, the fitment factor can be between 1.83 to 2.46, while some experts have put it between 2.5 to 2.86. If the fitment factor is 2.86, then the minimum basic salary can be more than Rs 51,000. At the same time, the salary of employees can increase from Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000.
