look news india
For central employees and pensioners, big news related to 8th Pay Commission and dearness allowance (DA) is coming out. Recently, the Central Government had approved an increase of 3% in dearness allowance (DA) for central employees, after which it had increased from 50% to 53%, and this increase has become effective from July 1, 2024. About 49.18 lakh central employees and 64.89 lakh pensioners have benefited from this increase. Additionally, in March 2025, it was approved to increase dearness allowance from 53% to 55% for the January-June 2025 period.
Talking about the most awaited 8th Pay Commission, it was formed by the Union Cabinet on January 16, 2025. It is expected that the recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission will be applicable from January 1, 2026. However, some reports are also expected to delay and may be implemented in the late 2026 or early 2027. If the implementation is delayed, the employees are likely to get arrears from January 2026.
The main objective of the 8th Pay Commission is to amend the salary, pension and allowances of 65 lakh pensioners, including about 50 lakh central government employees, and 65 lakh pensioners.Employees and experts are speculating that the minimum basic salary under the 8th Pay Commission can increase from the current ₹ 18,000 to ₹ 26,000.This indicates an ‘tremendous’ increase of 40–44%. The most important multiplier for salary amendment, ‘Fitment Factor’ is estimated to be 1.96, although it has not been officially confirmed yet. According to experts by experts, the fitment factor can range from 1.92 to 3.68. A popular estimate is from the fitment factor of 2.86, which can increase the minimum wage to ₹ 51,480.
It is important to note that the minimum basic salary under the 7th Pay Commission increased from ₹ 7,000 to ₹ 18,000, due to the fitment factor of 2.57. There was also a huge increase in pension for pensioners, which had increased from ₹ 3,500 to ₹ 9,000. Under the 8th Pay Commission, adequate increase in pension of pensioners is also expected. So far no official statement has come from the government on the benefits of the Fitment Factor or 8th Pay Commission. Dearness allowances are implemented twice a year from 1 January and 1 July, which is determined based on data from the All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI-IW).