8th Pay Commission salary hike: When can central government employees get revised pay and arrears?

The 8th Pay Commission has released the schedule of its meetings with stakeholders in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. It has invited central government institutions, unions and associations to discuss their demands related to salary, pension and allowances.

Similar meetings have already been held in Pune, Dehradun and New Delhi, while discussions in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are scheduled in June 2026.

Several employee and pensioner organisations have suggested different fitment factors for salary and pension revision. The National Council-JCM (staff side) has demanded a fitment factor of 3.833 and a minimum basic pay of Rs 69,000, while the All India Defence Employees’ Federation (AIDEF) has also sought a fitment factor of 3.83.

The Indian Railways Technical Supervisors Association (IRTSA) has proposed five separate fitment factors for different employee levels. The proposed multipliers range from 2.92 for Level 2–5 employees to 4.38 for Level 17–18 employees.

The table above shows how basic salaries of central government employees across different pay levels may change under fitment factors such as 2.57, 2.92 and 3.83.

The 8th Pay Commission was given 18 months to submit its report after the Terms of Reference (ToR) were issued in November 2025. Experts estimate that implementation may take another three to six months after submission of the report, making the second half of 2027 a possible timeline for implementation.

The 8th Pay Commission has not officially announced the arrear date yet. But, looking at the past pay commissions, they are usually implemented from the day after the previous commission wraps up. Since the 7th Pay Commission ended on December 31, 2025, revised salaries and arrears may be applicable from January 1, 2026.