The Eighth Pay Commission now has only a few months left to prepare and submit its report. Its deadline was November 3, 2025. Meetings are currently underway.

Update on 8th Pay Commission

The 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) is currently in the consultation phase. Chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, the Commission is currently holding meetings with various employee unions, representatives, groups, pensioner associations, federations, and other stakeholders. The Commission has previously visited several states, including a recent meeting in Bengaluru. Another major meeting is scheduled for shortly after Dussehra, where several key issues are expected to be discussed.

Keeping in mind rising inflation and the changing economy over time, the Central Government constitutes a Pay Commission, or CPC, every 10 years to revise the allowances, salaries, and pensions of its employees. Although the government increases the dearness allowance (DA) every six months, after a certain point, simply increasing the DA is insufficient. To improve the living standards of government employees, changes in basic salaries are also required, which impacts all Central Government employees and retired ex-servicemen. Overall, the implementation of the new Pay Commission will benefit approximately 4.9 million Central Government employees and over 6.8 million pensioners.

When will it be implemented?

Although the Eighth Pay Commission is scheduled to be implemented from January 1, 2026, the Commission has yet to prepare its report and submit it to the government. Only after receiving government approval will the increased pay be credited to employees' bank accounts.

Since the Commission was given time till May 2027 to prepare its report after its formation, it is believed that it will be fully implemented by the end of next year because after submission of the report, the Union Finance Ministry and a special group of ministers will study these recommendations closely.

This review will assess the burden on the national treasury of the proposed salary and pension increases, and which changes can and cannot be approved. After the review is complete, it is sent to the Union Cabinet.

Upon receiving the Cabinet's approval, the government issues an official Gazette Notification. Departments then begin calculating the new salaries. This entire process may take another 3-6 months.

When will the Mumbai meeting take place?

The 8th Pay Commission will visit Mumbai on October 22-23 (Thursday-Friday). If any organization wishes to appear in person before the Commission to present its demands, the deadline for such appointments was set for October 10, which has now passed. This meeting will also include demands for improvements in salary structures, pension policies, and allowances.

It's worth noting that the Railway Ministry had previously stated that the commission would visit railway departments under the Central Railway (CR) zone in the city to gain firsthand experience of the working conditions of employees. The visit's agenda includes inspections of track maintenance, signal operations, daily operations, duties and maintenance tasks, control rooms, and work-related risks.

The two recognized federations—AIRF (All India Railwaymen's Federation) and NFIR (National Federation of Indian Railwaymen)—were briefed about the visit. The Railway Ministry provided them with a list of departments and asked them to suggest other key areas for consideration. These meetings are significant because both federations represent ground-level railway employees such as trackmen, station masters, loco pilots, and technicians. Now, by presenting their views directly to the Commission, real issues that often remain buried in files will be exposed. In this regard, the Pay Commission team will specifically visit various railway departments of the Central Railway (CR) zone during its visit to Mumbai on October 22 and 23.