8th Pay Commission Update: As the 7th Pay Commission is about to complete 9 years and enter the final phase of its tenure (as past Pay Commissions typically lasted 10 years), there is a lot of buzz around the formation of 8th pay commission . About 1.2 million central government employees and pensioners are anxiously awaiting two key updates: when the government will announce the formation of the 8th pay commission and what will be the expected hike in pension and pay for central government employees.

Regarding the timetable for setting up the 8th Pay Commission, the Center has not made any formal commitment so far. However, several media reports have speculated that the 8th Pay Commission will soon be formed, based on the historical trend of governments setting up a Pay Commission roughly every 10 years. According to this assumption, it is expected that the new Pay Commission will be formed after the deadline 7th Pay Commission ends on December 31, 2025.

Read also: 8th Pay Commission formation: ‘Right time for announcement… government will take decision’ – key takeaways from staff-govt meeting

Similarly, there have been several speculative media reports suggesting a possible new adjustment factor and, based on it, forecasts for increased wages and pensions for employees and retirees. The salary scales of the central administration staff are revised within each salary commission by applying an adaptation factor. For example, in the 7th Pay Commission, the salaries of employees were revised using a scaling factor of 2.57. However, the employee unions had demanded an adjustment factor of 3.67.

What is the expected adjustment factor for minimum wage fixation under 8th pay commission?

According to an NDTV report, Shiv Gopal Mishra, secretary (personnel side) of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), expects a scaling factor of “at least 2.86” for the revision of pay and pensions. Based on this adjustment factor, the minimum basic pay of a government employee would increase to Rs 51,480 from the current minimum pay of Rs 18,000. Similarly, pensions would increase to Rs 25,740, up from Rs 9,000, if the adjustment factor is set at 2.86.

Salary and pension increases are calculated by multiplying the adaptation factor with the previous minimum salary or the amount of the pension.

Mishra, who expected a fitment factor of 2.86, assumes importance as he, as the NC-JCM staff representative, had a meeting with Union Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey. During the meeting, the Satff side addressed the issue of the request for the formation of the 8th salary commission.

Mishra told the television channel that he was “looking at a matching factor of at least 2.86, given that this kind of review only happens once in 10 years”.

CN-JCM is the apex body in the JCM scheme which deals with various issues affecting central government employees.

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The two previous Side staff memoranda to the government

CN-JCM submitted two memoranda, demanding the establishment, at the earliest, of the 8th Central Salary Commission. The first memorandum was presented to Rajiv Gauba, then Union Cabinet Secretary, during the presentation of the Union Budget in July 2024. The second memorandum was submitted to Gauba’s successor, TV Somanathan, who became Cabinet Secretary on 30 August.