8th Pay Commission news: Notified a year ago, 5 biggest 8th CPC developments since November 3, 2025

It was on November 3, 2025, when the 8th Pay Commission’s Terms of Reference (ToR), the blueprint of its responsibilities, were notified. The 8th CPC ToR comprised its deadline, major tasks, and the names of three main members, including that of the chairperson, Ranjana Prakash Desai.

In the last one year, the 8th Pay Commission has held nationwide consultations with hundreds of central government employees’ and pensioners’ bodies and other stakeholders. Taking their inputs, the commission will prepare a report. Once the cabinet approves the report and the Finance Ministry notifies, the new wage and pension amounts will apply for central government employees and pensioners. Here, we take you through the 5 key developments that have taken place since the notification of the 8th CPC ToR on November 3, 2025.

1.Three-member commission and 18-month deadline to submit report

In the November 3, 2025, notification, the government informed about the three-member 8th Pay Commission and gave it an 18-month deadline to prepare its report. The deadline will effectively end on May 3, 2027. The three members of the commission were-

Chairperson: Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai

Part-time member: Professor Pulak Ghosh

Member-secretary: Pankaj Jain

The ToR highlighted the commission’s main task, such as recommending changes towards the central government employees’ pay, pension, allowance and other service conditions.

2. 18-question questionnaire launched on February 5, 2026

It took some time for the 8th Pay Commission to gear up, but the first key step came in the form of an 18-question questionnaire that was issued to government departments, employees, pensioners, associations, researchers and other stakeholders. Through the questionnaire, these organisations could present their views on a variety of topics such as pay, pensions, work conditions, etc.

The last date to submit the questionnaire was March 31, 2026.

3. 8th Pay Commission asked to submit memorandums

After the questionnaire window closed, the 8th Pay Commission opened the window to submit memorandums from March 5, 2026.

Serving employees, pensioners, unions, associations and organisations were asked to submit a detailed report of their expectations from the 8th Pay Commission. They would submit the memorandum on the 8th Pay Commission’s official website and the MyGov portal.

The deadline to submit the memorandum was April 30, but it was extended to May 31 and then to June 15 to accommodate more stakeholders’ views on expectations.

4. NC-JCM demands Rs 69,000 as minimum pay and 3.833 fitment factor

In its memorandum submitted in early April, the National Council (Joint Consultative Machinery) for Central Government Employees- NC- JCM (staff side) recommended Rs 69,000 as the minimum basic pay and 3.833 as the fitment factor. Minimum pension at 67% of the last drawn basic pay, 6% annual increment, house rent allowance (HRA) rate revision and the merger of dearness allowance (DA) with basic pay when the DA reaches 25% were some of its other key demands.

5. Stakeholder consultations began in April 2026

One of the most important processes of the 8th Pay Commission, the stakeholder consultation process started in April 2026 in Dehradun on April 24. In these discussions, stakeholders presented their views on various aspects of employee-related demands. The last consultation happened in Mumbai from October 22 to 23.

There is a likelihood that the 8th Pay Commission may announce more consultation meeting dates in the near future.