The 8th Pay Commission 2026 fitment factor is what actually decides how much your basic pay increases, and no official number has been finalised yet. The Commission will revise salaries for central government employees, with recommendations due within 18 months of its 3 November 2025 constitution. Around 50 lakh central government employees and 65 lakh pensioners are expected to benefit once the commission submits its report and the government notifies a new pay matrix.
8th Pay Commission
The Pay Commission is a body the Government of India constitutes roughly every 10 years to review and recommend changes to the pay structure for central government employees. The 8th Pay Commission follows the 7th Pay Commission, which used a fitment factor of 2.57 to revise all basic pays from 2016.
The 8th Central Pay Commission was constituted on 3 November 2025, with the Cabinet approving its terms of reference on 28 October 2025. It is chaired by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, with Prof. Pulak Ghosh (IIM Bangalore) as part-time Member and Pankaj Jain as Member-Secretary. The Commission must submit its recommendations within 18 months of constitution, meaning by roughly May 2027 — it will have crossed half that timeline by the end of August 2026.
Source: 8th Central Pay Commission (official), Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance
This is the most significant salary revision for government staff since the 7th Pay Commission took effect in 2016.
Important Links
| Resource | Official destination |
|---|---|
| 8th Central Pay Commission (official) | 8th Central Pay Commission (official) |
| Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance | Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance |
| DoPT – Service matters and pay circulars | DoPT – Service matters and pay circulars |
| Sarkari Naukri updates | Latest government job notifications |
| Bengaluru sitting, requests close 18.09.2026 | 8CPC notice on the Bengaluru visit of 7 and 8 October 2026. Live on 12.09.2026; the only sitting whose request window is still open |
The Commission is touring the country, and one window is still open
The written memorandum window closed on 15 June 2026, and most coverage stopped there. It is not the only way to be heard: since August the Commission has been holding sittings in different cities, each announced on its own website with its own deadline to ask for a slot. Read off 8cpc.gov.in on 12.09.2026.
| Sitting | Dates, and the deadline to ask for a slot |
|---|---|
| Bengaluru — still open | 7 and 8 October 2026. Requests close 18 September 2026, which is the only one of these windows a reader can still act on |
| Chandigarh | 16, 17 and 18 September 2026. The window to request a slot closed on 25 August |
| Puducherry | 9 September 2026, held. Requests had closed on 18 August |
| Jaipur | 31 August and 1 September 2026, held. Requests had closed on 18 August |
| Notice the gap between the two dates | Every one of these closed requests about three weeks before the sitting itself. A union or association waiting for a city to be announced near them should treat the announcement, not the sitting date, as the deadline |
| Three other routes the Commission runs | Its questionnaire, a memorandum submission page, and an online data portal, all reachable from its own site. There is also a page for requesting an appointment or meeting directly |
No fitment factor, pay matrix, HRA structure or pension revision formula has been finalised or announced as on 12.09.2026. Any figure presented as confirmed is a projection. The Commission was constituted on 3 November 2025 with 18 months to report, so it is now about ten months in, with roughly eight months left.
8th Pay Commission vs 7th Pay Commission
| Factor | 7th CPC | 8th CPC (Expected) |
|---|---|---|
| Fitment Factor | 2.57 | 2.28 to 2.86 (projected) |
| Minimum Pay (Level 1) | ₹18,000 | ₹41,040 to ₹51,480 (projected) |
| Effective From | 1 January 2016 | 1 January 2026 |
| Employees Covered | ~48 lakh | ~50 lakh |
| Pensioners Covered | ~52 lakh | ~65 lakh |
Who benefits
- All central government civilian employees in Pay Levels 1 to 18
- Defence personnel – Army, Navy, Air Force
- Central government pensioners and family pensioners
- Employees of central autonomous bodies governed by central pay scales
State government employees are covered by state-level pay commissions. Some states align with central recommendations; others set independent timelines.
Other items under review
Beyond basic pay, the 8th Pay Commission 2026 is expected to cover House Rent Allowance (HRA), Transport Allowance, NPS contribution rates, gratuity limits, and Leave Travel Concession (LTC) – all of which affect take-home pay.
Official sources
- Department of Expenditure – Pay Commission orders
- DoPT – Service matters and pay circulars
This article is for informational purposes only. Verify all salary and pay commission details from the official doe.gov.in and DoPT websites before making financial decisions. Last updated: 31.07.2026
Covers government employee finance topics — loans, insurance schemes, salary and pension tools — for Global Drishti, sourcing every figure from RBI, IRDAI, CGHS, DoPT and other official portals. Numbers are re-verified before publish; see our editorial policy for sourcing standards.