The 8th Pay Commission will meet employee unions and stakeholders across cities including Srinagar, Ladakh, Lucknow, and Bhubaneswar in
8th Pay Commission Meetings: The 8th Central Pay Commission is now moving into a busy round of meetings with employees, unions, and other groups. The official schedule shows visits planned for Srinagar from 1-4 June 2026, Ladakh on 8 June 2026, Lucknow on 22-23 June 2026, and Bhubaneswar on 6-7 July 2026. The Bhubaneswar meeting has 15 June 2026 as the last date for appointment requests, while Lucknow has 10 June 2026 as the cut-off. The commission’s website also says there will be more meetings in other states and Union Territories later.
The panel is also not starting from zero. It already held talks with organisations linked to the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Defence in Delhi on 13-14 May 2026, and then met stakeholders in Hyderabad on 18-19 May 2026. Before that, it had opened the door for memorandum submissions in March. A public notice said submissions would be accepted through the online portal only, and the deadline was later extended to 31 May 2026.
Who is on the panel?
The commission is chaired by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai. Pankaj Jain, a former IAS officer, is the Member-Secretary. Pulak Ghosh, a professor of finance and a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, is also part of the panel. The government says the Eighth Central Pay Commission was set up through a notification dated 3 November 2025, and the commission has been given 18 months to submit its report.
The panel’s job is to hear what people want and then study the numbers carefully before making its recommendations. It is expected to look at pay, allowances, pension rules, and the wider salary structure for central government staff. That includes railways, defence staff, and pensioners too.
Why the talks matter
The commission’s decisions could affect about 50 lakh serving central government employees and around 65 lakh retired pensioners. That is a very big group, so even small changes can matter a lot in real life. The panel is also inviting consultant applications for work connected to pay structure and pensions, which shows that the process is still building its expert base before final recommendations are made.
One official line from the commission puts it plainly: “Please note that the Commission shall be holding separate meetings at cities in other States/ Union Territories in due course,” it stated.