There is good news for central government employees and pensioners, but relief is still far away. The long awaited 8th Pay Commission has finally been approved for more than 1.2 crore employees and pensioners. The Central Government has given the green signal to the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Commission. This means that now this commission will start its work and prepare recommendations related to salaries, pensions and allowances in the coming 18 months.
When will you get the benefit of 8th Pay Commission?
The government has given the commission 18 months time to study all the aspects and submit its report. This report is expected to be ready by April 2027. After this it will be sent to the Central Government Cabinet for approval. Based on past experiences, it is believed that this process may take up to 2028 to complete. This means that government employees may have to wait for about two to two and a half years to see an increase in their salaries.
How long did previous commissions take?
If we look at the old pay commissions, we see that the 6th Pay Commission was constituted in July 2006 and its recommendations were implemented in August 2008, i.e. after about 22 months. The process of 7th Pay Commission started in February 2014 and was completed in June 2016, which took 28 months to implement. It is clear from these examples that it usually takes two to two and a half years from the approval of ToR to the implementation of the recommendations.
Why was there delay?
The 8th Pay Commission was announced in January 2025, but it took more than nine months to get its working rules i.e. ToR approved. It was only at the end of October 2025 that the government formally gave it the green signal. For this reason the actual work of the Commission is now starting.
Who will get the benefit?
The recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission will directly impact more than 1.2 crore central government employees and pensioners. Apart from this, those employees of autonomous institutions and government bodies who follow the Central pay scales will also be able to avail this benefit. Later, many state governments also implement revised pay scales for their employees, benefiting lakhs more people.