People who get paid by the government and those receiving pensions are now eagerly waiting for the 8th Pay Commission to begin. After the commission was officially approved in January 2025, people have started talks about salary increases, better pensions, and paid arrears. June 2025’s updates say that important changes could have a major impact on the financial conditions of one crore central government employees and pensioners.
The Push for DA Arrears
Many employees are still worried about the 18 months of no Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) they received between January 2020 and June 2021. Employee unions have frequently pressed the government for help, but the government has not agreed to release the money so far. Representatives again raised this issue at the 63rd meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Council (NC-JCM) and told the government they should reconsider. Yet, authorities say that strict budgets and costs caused by the pandemic make it difficult to agree to retrospective payments.
Salary Revisions and Fitment Factor
The 8th Pay Commission is said to introduce a fitment factor of 2.86, which is higher than the 2.57 amount set by the 7th Pay Commission. The proposal is that government staff’s salary would increase from ₹18,000 to ₹51,480, and minimum pensions could hike from ₹9,000 to ₹25,740 once approved. People working at Level 3 can expect to earn ₹74,845, while employees at Level 6 may make as much as ₹1.2 lakh after the changes are made.
Allowances and Benefits
Besides giving employees a higher salary, the 8th Pay Commission is preparing to modify HRA and TA in order to match today’s living costs. People working in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru can expect to get more HRA when compared to people living in smaller towns. The positive part is that adjustments will be made to NPS and CGHS from the new salary setup.
Implementation Timeline
Even though the 8th Pay Commission was given approval, the Terms of Reference (ToR) are not yet settled, and the commission’s members have not been appointed. Up to now, it normally takes pay commissions around 18-24 months to finish their work and make suggestions. Though the government wants to unveil the revised pay matrix on January 1, 2026, any issue with the ToR might delay the implementation.
Employee Unions and Government Response
Employees are still attempting to get the government to act quickly on their ongoing debts. Still, the government looks to strike a balance between giving employees what they want and managing the budget. Wage increases are on the way, but it is still uncertain if retrospective DA will be given this year. In the coming months, it will be important to finalize the recommendations and see their effects on people working for the government.
While the 8th Pay Commission brings increased salaries for central government workers, problems are still being faced. As the discussions go on, people involved hope to settle their issues as soon as possible.