<p>The 8th Pay Commission will hold key meetings in Bengaluru and Mumbai this October. Officials will mainly discuss the fitment factor and the growing demand for ‘One Rank, One Pension’ (OROP) for civilian government employees.</p><img><p><strong>8th Pay Commission:</strong> The 8th Pay Commission will complete 11 months around October 3, following its formation on November 3, 2025. Officials will hold two crucial meetings in Bengaluru on October 7 and Mumbai on October 22. The panel will take its work forward after wrapping up recent September meetings in Chandigarh and Puducherry.</p><img><p>The 8th Pay Commission has not announced any specific agenda for these meetings yet. However, employees are mainly raising demands around the fitment factor, salary revisions, allowances, and pension reforms.</p><img><p>Civilian central government employees from Level 1 to 18 are strongly demanding a ‘One Rank, One Pension’ (OROP) style system. Employees want this system to reduce the pension gap between people who retired from the same rank or level at different times.</p><img><p>The OROP system ensures equal pension for people who worked in the same rank and completed a similar length of service, no matter when they retired. The current system looks very different. Frequent changes in salary and pension rules create huge differences in the pension amounts of retirees from the exact same rank.</p><img><p>The government rolled out the OROP system for armed forces personnel in 2015, and made the benefits effective from July 1, 2014. The system already ensures pension equality for retired Supreme Court and High Court judges, as well as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.</p><img><p>Let us look at the main demands of civilian pensioners. Civilian pensioners are retired central government employees who did not serve in the armed forces. The All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF) has raised several demands regarding pensions and retirement benefits for these civilian employees.</p><img><p>What do the key features of the AIDEF proposed OROP framework mean?</p><ul> <li>Notional Fixation – Linking the past pension to the revised pay for that specific rank or level.</li> <li>Same Rank/Level – Considering the exact rank or level the employee held at the time of retirement.</li> <li>Career Progression – Factoring in increments and promotions.</li> <li>Upgraded Posts – Considering any later revisions or upgradations of the rank or level.</li> <li>Pension Basis – The All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF) proposes fixing the pension at 50% of the ‘notional pensionable pay’, subject to applicable rules.</li></ul><p>Note: These demands are just examples. Please check the official memorandum or notification of the employee union for detailed information.</p><img><p>The AIDEF states that the government should not rely on the old salary structure from the time of retirement to ensure pension equality. Instead, officials should consider the continuous changes in pay scales (notional progression) based on the recommendations of various pay commissions.</p><img><p>The employee union has proposed that the 8th Pay Commission should consider the rank or level at retirement, increments, promotions, career progression, and any later upgradation or restructuring of that post. They also proposed fixing the pension at 50% of the ‘notional pensionable pay’, subject to minimum pension rules and other legal provisions.</p><img><p>The 8th Pay Commission will likely submit its final report around May or June 2027, which is 18 months after its formation. The panel, led by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, will hand over the final report for the central government to consider. If the government accepts this proposal, it will reduce the pension gap among civilian retirees in similar positions.</p>
