8th Pay Commission: What happens after the commission submits its report? 5 key steps explained
The 8th Pay Commission has recently concluded 2 meaningful meetings in Bengaluru and Mumbai on October 8 and 23, respectively. Since its constitution on 3 November 2025, the 8th Pay Commission panel has held meaningful discussions in prominent states and union territories, including Delhi, Ladakh, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. In a few days, on 3 November 2026, the commission will complete 1 year since its constitution.
Now, it is vital to keep in mind that the 8th Pay Commission is a temporary 3-member body headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. The panel is expected to recommend meaningful changes and amendments to salaries, pensions, allowances, and associated payments of central government employees and pensioners.
Furthermore, as per the terms of reference (ToR) of the 8th Pay Commission, the report is expected to be tabled within 18 months of the date of constitution, i.e., 3 November 2025. Therefore, the expectation is that the report will be officially presented by the 8th Pay Commission panel by May-June 2027.
Still, it is vital to keep in mind that submitting the official report will not automatically trigger a salary hike. Once the report is presented, the central government will first have to examine and carefully analyse the recommendations, their fiscal prudence and decide how they should be implemented.
A vital aspect of the report will be the fitment factor multiplier, which determines how existing basic pay is multiplied to calculate the revised basic pay. This is an extremely important metric that can give a clear picture of the 8th Pay Commission recommendations.
The 6th Pay Commission recommended a fitment factor of 1.86, while the 7th Pay Commission proposed a uniform fitment factor of 2.57. Under the 7th Pay Commission, for instance, minimum basic pay increased from ₹7,000 to ₹18,000.
This time, prominent unions and stakeholders are pushing for a higher fitment factor, in order to ensure that the purchasing power of serving employees and pensioners is always protected. For example, Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS) is pushing for a 4x fitment factor, whereas the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) Staff Side has proposed a fitment factor of 3.833.
The fitment factor for the 8th Pay Commission has not yet been finalised. The final figure will depend on the commission's recommendations and the government's decision. Employees should also remember that the fitment factor is applied to basic pay, not directly to the entire take-home salary. Now let us understand the step-by-step process of what could happen after the official report is submitted.
Once the official report is presented by the 8th Pay Commission, the central government will review it and examine all the recommendations covering aspects such as fitment factor, basic pay, allowances, pensions, and service-related conditions.
Then the government will decide which proposals, ideas, and grievances are going to be accepted, modified or rejected on administrative, fiscal and financial considerations, subject to the rules and regulations, as provided in the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 8th Pay Commission.
Certain recommendations, particularly those involving allowances, pensions, or implementation-related concerns, may require additional scrutiny or committee review.
Once the final decisions are made, the central government will issue a fresh notification and necessary orders specifying the revised pay structures, applicable rules and regulations, and effective dates.
A date will be fixed and communicated to the concerned employee unions, associations, and pensioners by the central government, from which the 8th Pay Commission will be officially applicable. Departments will calculate revised salaries and pension benefits for eligible employees from then on. The payment of arrears will then be done as per the government orders.
In summary, the 8th Pay Commission, constituted on 3 November 2025 and given 18 months to table its final report, has completed 2/3 of its allocated time. In the next 7-8 months, the final report of the 8th Pay Commission panel is expected to be tabled.
Still, the remaining modalities, actual implementation date, official fitment factor and salary revision details are only going to be revealed later, after the central government’s subsequent decisions and official notification. Till then, the proposed changes to the fitment factor, allowances, and salary revision should be treated as proposals only and not officially declared figures.
Shivam writes on personal finance, equity markets, and mutual funds. He has previously contributed to several leading publications, including Moneycontrol. He can be reached at shivam.shukla@htdigital.in
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