The 8th Central Pay Commission, which will revise the pay structure, allowances and pensions of approximately 50.46 lakh Central Government employees and 68.27 lakh pensioners, is now in its consultation phase. This article sets out the verified position as of late April 2026, separating what has been officially notified from what is still being negotiated and what remains rumour.
Quick reference snapshot
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Cabinet approval (Terms of Reference) | 28 October 2025 ✓ |
| Gazette notification | 3 November 2025 ✓ |
| Chairperson | Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (Retd. SC) ✓ |
| Member (Part-Time) | Prof. Pulak Ghosh, IIM Bangalore ✓ |
| Member-Secretary | Shri Pankaj Jain, IAS (1990 batch) ✓ |
| Mandate | 18 months (deadline ~May 2027) ✓ |
| Effective date for revised pay | 1 January 2026 (reference date for arrears) |
| Public consultation deadline | 16 March 2026 (closed) ✓ |
| Memoranda submission deadline | 30 April 2026 (active) |
| Fitment factor | Not yet recommended (demands range 2.86 to 3.83) |
| Implementation date | Not officially announced (expected 2027–28) |
What has been officially confirmed
1. Constitution of the Commission
The 8th Pay Commission was formally constituted by the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, through a gazette notification dated 3 November 2025. The notification followed the Cabinet’s approval of the Terms of Reference on 28 October 2025. This sequence matters: the January 2025 announcement of “in-principle” approval did not, by itself, create the Commission. The Commission as a legal body began on 3 November 2025, and the 18-month mandate runs from that date.
2. Composition
- Chairperson: Smt. Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. She previously chaired the Delimitation Commission for Jammu and Kashmir (2020), the Uttarakhand UCC Committee (2022), and the Gujarat UCC Commission (February 2025).
- Member (Part-Time): Prof. Pulak Ghosh of IIM Bangalore, an academic with a research focus on public economics.
- Member-Secretary: Shri Pankaj Jain, IAS officer of the 1990 batch, currently serving from the Department of Expenditure side.
The Commission Secretariat operates from the 3rd and 7th floors of Chanderlok Building, Janpath, New Delhi. The official website 8cpc.gov.in went live in February 2026 and is the authoritative channel for notifications and consultation schedules.
3. Mandate and timeline
The Commission has 18 months from constitution to submit its report, taking the deadline to approximately May 2027. It may submit interim reports earlier if specific recommendations are finalised. The Cabinet press note clarified that recommendations are expected to take effect from 1 January 2026, in line with the ten-year cycle since the 7th CPC. This effective date is the reference for arrears, not necessarily the date salaries actually change in your bank account.
4. What the Commission must consider
The Terms of Reference list five constraints the Commission must keep in view while drafting recommendations:
- Economic conditions in the country and the need for fiscal prudence.
- The need for adequate resources for developmental expenditure and welfare measures.
- The unfunded cost of non-contributory pension schemes (relevant to the OPS-NPS debate).
- The likely impact on State Government finances, since most States adopt CPC recommendations with modifications.
- The prevailing emolument structure in Central Public Sector Undertakings and the private sector.
What is still under negotiation
Fitment factor
The single most consequential number — the fitment factor that will multiply current basic pay to give revised basic pay — has not been recommended yet. Different employee bodies have submitted different demands:
| Body | Demand |
|---|---|
| NC-JCM (Staff Side, drafting committee Feb 2026) | 3.25 |
| Some union memoranda | 3.83 |
| Other associations | 2.86 |
| 7th CPC (for reference) | 2.57 (recommended), accepted as 2.57 |
None of these is the recommended figure. Articles claiming a confirmed fitment factor of 2.28, 2.86, 3.25, or 3.83 are reporting demands, projections, or earlier rumours, not Commission recommendations. The Commission will recommend a single figure, the Cabinet will accept or modify it, and only then will the number be official.
NPS, UPS, OPS pension question
Employee bodies have asked the Commission to revisit the National Pension System (NPS) and to consider restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for at least specific categories. The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), notified in 2024 as an option for NPS subscribers, sits between the two. The Commission has flagged the unfunded cost of non-contributory pension schemes as a constraint, signalling caution. A blanket restoration of OPS is not, on the public record, the most likely outcome.
Other employee demands tabled
- 7% annual increment in place of the existing 3%.
- Increase in leave encashment ceiling at retirement from 300 to 400 days.
- Family unit for salary calculation raised from 3 to 5 members.
- LTC made encashable in cash form.
- Fixed Medical Allowance raised from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 20,000 per month in non-CGHS areas.
- Defence and postal employee bodies have separately sought guaranteed promotions and improved financial progression.
What you can act on right now
Submit a memorandum (deadline 30 April 2026)
Individual employees, associations, and pensioners can submit memoranda exclusively through the online portal at innovateindia.mygov.in/8cpc-memorandum-submission. Paper, email, or hard-copy submissions are not entertained. The NC-JCM Staff Side has separately requested an extension to 31 May 2026, but the published deadline remains 30 April 2026.
DA at 60% from January 2026
While the Commission deliberates, the routine Dearness Allowance cycle continues. Cabinet approved a 2% DA hike on 18 April 2026. The Department of Expenditure issued the Office Memorandum No.1/4(i)/2025-E.II(B) on 22 April 2026, raising DA from 58% to 60% of basic pay with effect from 1 January 2026. Three months of arrears (January, February, March 2026) will be paid with the April 2026 salary cycle. This DA hike is independent of the 8th CPC and is the last AICPI-IW-driven revision before the new pay structure takes over. See our separate article on the DA 60% OM for the complete pay-fixation table.
Realistic implementation timeline
The 7th CPC was implemented in July 2016, with arrears from January 2016. A similar pattern is the most likely scenario for the 8th CPC: report submitted around mid-2027, Cabinet decision a few months later, actual disbursement in late 2027 or early 2028, with arrears reckoned from 1 January 2026. Plan around this timeline, not around social media claims of an immediate hike.
Frequently asked questions
Has the fitment factor been finalised?
No. As of April 2026, the Commission has not recommended any fitment factor. Numbers in circulation (2.28, 2.86, 3.25, 3.83) are demands or projections.
Will my salary increase from January 2026?
Not yet under the 8th CPC. Your DA went up to 60% from January 2026 (notified 22 April 2026). The actual revised basic pay under the 8th CPC will likely be paid in 2027 or 2028, with arrears from 1 January 2026.
Where do I track official notifications?
The official Commission website is 8cpc.gov.in. For Office Memoranda, the Department of Expenditure (doe.gov.in) and DoPT (dopt.gov.in) are the primary sources. We mirror every relevant OM in our Government Orders archive on this site.
Will the Old Pension Scheme be restored?
The Commission has flagged the unfunded cost of non-contributory pensions as a constraint. A blanket restoration is not, on the public record so far, the most likely outcome. Targeted relief for specific categories or improvements to UPS terms are more probable, but no recommendation is on record.
What we will update
This article will be updated when the Commission submits an interim report, when the fitment factor is recommended, and when the Cabinet accepts the final report. Each update will carry a date-stamped note. We will not silently change the body to make older claims look prescient.
Sources
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs press note, 28 October 2025 (PIB, “Cabinet approves Terms of Reference for 8th CPC”).
- Gazette of India Extraordinary, Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure), notification dated 3 November 2025.
- Department of Expenditure OM No.1/4(i)/2025-E.II(B), dated 22 April 2026 (DA at 60%).
- National Council (Staff Side), JCM drafting committee meeting, 25 February 2026.
- 8cpc.gov.in — official Commission website.