The 8th Pay Commission was constituted on November 3, 2025, by the Centre with a 10-year tenure to review salaries and pensions for central government employees and pensioners. According to reports from Mint, the commission is headed by Former Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai as Chairperson, with Prof. Pulak Ghosh and Pankaj Jain serving as its other two members. The Centre approved the Terms of Reference on October 28, 2025, through a Press Information Bureau release, and the commission has since begun consultations with stakeholders. Pankaj Jain, former IAS, serves as Member-Secretary, while Professor Pulak Ghosh, tenured Professor of Finance, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, holds the position of Member of the Commission. The panel has also invited applications from candidates for full-time and part-time consultant roles on a one-year contractual basis to make recommendations related to emolument structure of different categories of officers, employees and on pensions.
The commission has initiated meetings with employee unions, pensioners, government departments and other stakeholders as part of its 18-month tenure. As reported by Mint, the consultation process includes upcoming visits to Kolkata (July 9-10, 2026) and Bhubaneswar (July 6-7, 2026). The commission has extended the final submission deadline to June 15, 2026, following earlier revisions from the original April 30, 2026 deadline. The commission's recommendations are expected to be submitted within 18 months of constitution, with the final report anticipated by May 2027. The commission has directed that memoranda be submitted exclusively through its official website, with no further extensions granted after the June 15, 2026 deadline. The process for submissions began on March 5, 2026, with earlier deadlines on April 30 and May 31. The commission has already held consultations for unions and organisations under the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Defence in Delhi on 13 and 14 May, and with concerned stakeholders in Hyderabad, Telangana on 18-19 May.
The commission has scheduled multiple state visits and meetings across India to gather comprehensive inputs from stakeholders. Jammu & Kashmir: The meeting in Srinagar is scheduled from 1-4 June (Monday-Thursday), with stakeholders having till 16 May to make appointments. Ladakh: The meeting with concerned stakeholders in the UT of Ladakh is set for 8 June (Monday), with appointments required by 16 May. Uttar Pradesh: The meeting in Lucknow is scheduled from 22-23 June (Monday and Tuesday), with stakeholders having till 10 June to make appointments. Odisha: The 8th CPC will visit Bhubaneswar from 6-7 July (Monday and Tuesday) to hold discussions with concerned stakeholders, with appointment requests must be completed on or before 15 June. West Bengal: The commission will visit Kolkata from 9-10 July (Thursday and Friday) to hold discussions with concerned stakeholders, with appointment requests must be completed on or before 15 June. The commission has also indicated that separate meetings will be scheduled in other cities in Uttar Pradesh and in Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) besides other states and union territories in due course.
According to Mint reports, central government employees, pensioners, and their family members are expected to be the direct beneficiaries of any improvements in salaries, pensions, and benefits proposed by the 8th Pay Commission. The commission's mandate includes examining the existing pay structure, listening to union grievances, and recommending revisions to pay, allowances, and pension benefits. The commission will examine and recommend changes in basic pay, allowances, benefits and service conditions for more than 4.5 million employees and 6 million pensioners across the country. The recommendations will be implemented to help improve the livelihoods and morale of central government employees and pensioners while considering the economic and fiscal impact of proposed fitment factors and salary revisions. Beneficiaries are the nearly 50 lakh central government employees, including defence personnel, and around 65 lakh retired central government pensioners, including defence retirees, who will be impacted by the decisions. The commission is gathering inputs from labour representatives and groups, ministries, pension bodies, central government organisations / institutions, employee unions / associations, and other similar stakeholders to reach consensus on allowances, pension formula and salary structures for relevant employee and retiree groups.
The 8th Pay Commission is expected to bring significant salary revisions for over 50 lakh employees and around 65 lakh pensioners, with an expected salary hike of approximately 30% to 34%. According to latest reports, the expected minimum pay will range from ₹34,560 to ₹51,480 per month compared to the current ₹18,000 minimum pay under 7th CPC. Key benefits include revised House Rent Allowance (HRA) rates with metro cities (50 lakh+ population) expected to see HRA increase from 24% to 27-30%, tier-2 cities (5-50 lakh population) from 16% to 18-20%, and other cities from 8% to 9-10%. The commission's recommendations are expected to be implemented retrospectively from January 1, 2026. Employee associations have largely focused their submissions on improving salaries, pensions, and retirement benefits, with key demands including a higher fitment factor, substantial increase in minimum basic pay to offset rising inflation, and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme or review of the NPS/UPS framework. Looking at past trends, once the pay commission's recommendations are made, roll out takes another two to three years to complete, meaning that hikes announced in 2027 may only be fully implemented by 2029 or 2030.
