The 8th Pay Commission (8th Central Pay Commission, or 8th CPC) was approved by the Union Cabinet on 16 January 2025 and formally set up by a Department of Expenditure resolution dated 3 November 2025, after the Cabinet approved its terms of reference on 28 October 2025. It is chaired by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, and has 18 months from its constitution to give its recommendations.
Until the government accepts the report, there is no new pay matrix, no official fitment factor and no fixed date of implementation. Anything you read about exact new salaries is an estimate. The sections below separate what is official from what is speculation. More employee updates are on the government news section .
8th Pay Commission status as of November 2026
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 16 January 2025 | Union Cabinet approved setting up the 8th Central Pay Commission |
| 28 October 2025 | Cabinet approved the terms of reference |
| 3 November 2025 | Resolution notified: Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (Chairperson), Prof. Pulak Ghosh (Part-time Member), Pankaj Jain (Member-Secretary) |
| Early 2026 | Commission's website 8cpc.gov.in started; memoranda invited online from ministries, unions, associations and individuals |
| August 2026 | Government stated that the Commission had not yet submitted its report |
The resolution allows the Commission to send interim reports on matters it finalises early. As of this update, no report has been made public, and the government has not notified the date from which the new pay will apply.
How a pay commission works, stage by stage
- Constitution: the government sets up the commission by resolution and gives it terms of reference. (Done for the 8th CPC in November 2025.)
- Consultation: the commission collects data from ministries and takes memoranda from unions, associations and individuals, then holds meetings and visits. (Under way through 2026.)
- Report: it submits its recommendations to the Ministry of Finance, possibly with interim reports first.
- Examination: a committee of senior officers examines the report. For the 7th CPC, an Empowered Committee of Secretaries did this.
- Cabinet decision: the Union Cabinet approves the recommendations, with or without changes, and announces the effective date.
- Notification: revised pay rules and pension orders are notified, pay is fixed in the new matrix, and arrears are paid.
For the 7th CPC, the commission was set up in February 2014, the report came in November 2015, and the Cabinet approved implementation in June 2016 with effect from 1 January 2016. That gap between report and payment is normal, which is why arrears are common.
Who the 8th CPC covers
- Central government civilian employees, including industrial and non-industrial staff
- Members of the All India Services (IAS, IPS, IFoS)
- Defence forces personnel
- Employees of Union Territories and certain other central bodies covered by the resolution
- Pensioners and family pensioners of the above
State government employees are not directly covered. States usually set up their own pay commissions or adopt the central pattern later. Employees of central public sector enterprises have separate pay revision processes.
What the terms of reference ask for
The Commission will examine the pay structure, allowances, bonus, retirement benefits and other conditions of service, and suggest changes. While doing so, it has been asked to keep in mind:
- the economic conditions of the country and the need for fiscal prudence,
- the need to keep enough resources for development and welfare spending,
- the unfunded cost of non-contributory pension schemes,
- the likely impact on state government finances, since many states adopt the recommendations, and
- the pay, benefits and working conditions in central public sector undertakings and the private sector.
How a pay commission changes your salary: the fitment factor
The fitment factor is the number by which your existing basic pay is multiplied to get your new basic pay when the new pay matrix starts. It also absorbs the DA you were getting at that time, which is why DA restarts from zero afterwards.
Under the 7th CPC, the fitment factor was 2.57. The minimum basic pay rose from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000, and the highest (Cabinet Secretary level) went to Rs 2,50,000. An employee with a basic of Rs 10,000 on the 6th CPC scale moved to roughly Rs 25,700 (rounded to the nearest cell in the new pay matrix).
For the 8th CPC, no fitment factor has been announced. Employee unions have submitted demands and various media reports quote possible figures, but these are unofficial estimates. Your actual new pay will be known only after the government accepts the report and notifies new pay rules.
Past pay commissions for reference
| Commission | Chair | Effective from | Main change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th CPC | Justice B.N. Srikrishna | 1 January 2006 | Pay bands and grade pay |
| 7th CPC | Justice A.K. Mathur | 1 January 2016 | Pay matrix with levels; fitment factor 2.57 |
| 8th CPC | Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai | Not yet notified | Report awaited |
By past practice, pay commissions have taken effect from 1 January at the start of a decade, which is why many people expect 1 January 2026. That is a convention, not a government decision for the 8th CPC, and the effective date and any arrears will be stated in the government's notification.
What employees and pensioners can do now
- Keep your service book, pay fixation records and pension papers in order; they decide your new pay fixation.
- Follow your union or association's memorandum; the Commission takes views through its portal and meetings.
- Continue to check DA revisions, which carry on under the 7th CPC until the new pay is implemented. Our DA hike update tracks them.
- Pensioners should read the pensioners news page for how pension revision has worked in past commissions.
What it means for new recruits
Candidates joining central service now are appointed on the 7th CPC pay matrix, at the level stated in the recruitment notice. When the 8th CPC pay structure is implemented, their pay will be fixed in the new structure under the same rules as other serving employees, including any arrears from the effective date. So waiting for the 8th CPC is not a reason to delay joining; the date of joining decides seniority and increments, not the pay commission.
How to spot fake 8th CPC news
- Headlines giving an exact "new salary chart" or "fitment factor confirmed" without a government order are speculation.
- Official decisions appear on pib.gov.in, doe.gov.in, the Gazette of India and 8cpc.gov.in.
- PIB Fact Check regularly flags fake circulars about pay and allowances.
For wider news on service rules, pension schemes and allowances, see the central government employees roundup . If you are preparing to join central service, our lists of central government jobs and the best government jobs in India may help. HindiScope is not an official site; confirm every update on 8cpc.gov.in or pib.gov.in.