8th Pay Commission salary hike: Why NC-JCM wants minimum basic pay to rise from Rs 18,000 to Rs 69,000

The drafting committee of the National Council of the Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), which represents various central government employee and pensioner associations and unions, has submitted the common memorandum of demands to the 8^th Pay Commission. One of their key demands is to raise the minimum basic pay from Rs 18,000 in the 7^th Pay Commission to Rs 69,000 in the 8^th Pay Commission.

This represents a significant increase of 3.83 times, leading the NC-JCM drafting committee to demand a fitment factor of 3.833 for the 8^th CPC. A fitment factor is the multiplier of the salary and pension revisions.

At first glance, this seems like a huge leap since the drafting committee wants the basic salary to jump nearly four times. But what logic has it provided? What fitment factors did they propose for the 7^th Pay Commission? Was their suggested fitment factor accepted by the pay commission? Can we expect it to be approved this time around?


Also Read: DA hike delay: NC-JCM seeks cabinet secretary's intervention for dearness allowance announcement

Why does the drafting committee of NC-JCM want a 3.83 fitment factor for the 8^th Pay Commission?

In its recommendation for the minimum salary, the drafting committee based its fitment factor-related argument on two key points-

1. It mentions that the Indian Council of Medical Research recommends 3,490 kcal per month for physically demanding work. They calculated the money that will be needed to buy food that would provide 3,490 kilo calories to five people

2.NC-JCM considered five family units for the 8^th CPC instead of 3 mentioned in the 7^th CPC

Also Read: 8th Pay Commission update: NC-JCM seeks Rs 69,000 minimum basic pay, 3.83 fitment factor for employees, pensioners

Prices of food and daily use items

To get a clear picture, the employee unions calculate the minimum pay for a worker based on the monthly cost of a food basket. The food basket includes protein sources, dairy, fruits, vegetables, spices and other things of daily use.

The drafting committee takes the price of these items required for a person (single unit) from government stores in different cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Bengaluru. It then takes the average of these prices to determine the final prices of these items.

Since the drafting committee has recommended 3,490 kcal per month for a single person, they calculated the cost of items needed to provide that many calories, plus the prices of daily essentials for five persons.

Also Read: 8th Pay Commission NC-JCM memorandum: 6 things top govt employee body said about 8th CPC salary hike in its document

Relevance of family units in minimum pay calculation

The 7^th Pay Commission approved three family units of an employee for salary calculations. These three units included husband, wife and two kids.

Employee unions have long been demanding that it should be increased to five by also including parents. For the 8^th Pay Commission, instead of three units, NC-JCM also wants the 8^th CPC to consider five units.

How can recommendations of higher kcal demand and five family units boost a central government employee’s salary?

Now comes the next big thing. If these two elements are taken into account, how will the minimum salary jump from Rs 18,000 to Rs 69,000?

For this, NC-JCM has given a table of monthly expenses required for a family of five units. The table is as follows-

Minimum wage as on January 2026 for average of 2025 prices

As per retail prices- Retail prices All India- 5 units

Sl no	Item	Per month	Rate	Amount (₹)
1	Rice/Wheat super fine	71.25	60	4275
2	Dal (Toor/Urid/Moong)	12	139	1668
3	Raw vegetables	15	62	930
4	Green vegetables	18.75	37	693.75
5	Other vegetables	11.25	60	675
6	Fruits	18	120	2160
7	Milk	30	63	1890
8	Sugar/Jaggery	8.4	55	462
9	Edible oil	6	180	1080
10	Fish	4.16	688	2862.08
11	Meat	8.33	804	6697.32
12	Egg	150	7	1050
13	Total food	—	—	24443.15
14	Other food items (beverages, dry fruits, proteins, spices etc.)	—	—	2444.315
15	Detergents	Lumpsum	655	655
16	Clothes	9.2	222	2035
17	Stitching charges for clothes & other clothing	Lumpsum	—	3000
18	Total (13 to 17)	—	—	32577.465
19	Housing @ 7.5% of 18	—	—	2443.31
20	Fuel, electricity, water charges @ 20% of (18+19)	—	—	7004.155
21	Provide for skill @ 25% (18 to 20)	—	—	10506.232
22	Additional expenses (marriage, recreation, festivals etc.) @ 25%	—	—	13132.791
23	Technology charges @ 5% (18 to 22)	—	—	3283.198
24	Grand total	—	—	68947.151
25	Minimum pay for Group C (rounded off)	—	—	69000
26	Fitment formula	—	—	3.833

Practicality of 3.833 fitment factor

Will the government approve such a high fitment factor given it went ahead with a fitment factor of 2.57 in the 7^th Pay Commission and 1.92 in the 6^th Pay Commission? The 8^th Pay Commission has time till May 2027 to submit its report of recommendations. The central government can take another 3-6 months to implement the report, which means, the report will most likely be implemented at least in the second half of 2027.

Though the government provides arrears for the basic pay to employees in a new pay commission, it doesn’t provide arrears for allowances such as house rent allowance (HRA), thereby saving a substantial amount. In such a scenario, can the government afford to implement a fitment factor of 3.833 for the 8^th Pay Commission?

The president of a prominent central government employee association told ET Wealth Online on condition of anonymity that for the 7^th Pay Commission, NC-JCM recommended a fitment factor of 3.71 and a minimum pay of Rs 26,000. The government agreed on a fitment factor of 2.57 and a minimum pay of Rs 18,000.

“The drafting committee recommends the fitment factor based on the formula prepared by Dr Akroyd. The formula is a method to calculate the minimum cost of living and need-based wages for employees. Since new expenses such as the internet adds to the expenses of an employee, the drafting committee calculates those also,” says the president of the association.

“NC-JCM’s work is to raise the voice of employees. It’s up to the government to accept, partially accept or reject its demands,” says the president.