8th Pay Commission: Why Fitment Factor Is Key For Central Government Employees

The 8th Pay Commission will likely bring a hike in salaries for central government employees and pensioners.

Preliminary estimates indicate a fitment factor of around 1.96, which will nearly double the minimum basic pay. When added to Dearness Allowance (DA) and House Rent Allowance (HRA), overall remuneration is likely to undergo a significant increase.

Even if the entire rollout takes until 2027, the benefits are expected to be effective from Jan. 1, 2026. More than 50 lakh central government staff and about 65 lakh pensioners will get arrears once the new pay structure comes into effect.

Fitment is one of the key factors in calculating revised salaries under every pay commission. In essence, it multiplies the current basic pay to determine the new basic salary.

To put things into perspective, the 6th Pay Commission fixed the minimum basic pay at Rs 7,000. The 7th Pay Commission raised it to Rs 18,000, employing a fitment factor of 2.57.

For the 8th Pay Commission, it has been reported that the factor can vary between 1.92 and 2.86, with 1.96 being the most probable figure. This will serve as the basis for salary calculations at all levels.

If the fitment factor is taken as 1.96, the basic pay of Rs 18,000 would increase to around Rs 35,280 for Level-1 staff. The calculation doesn't take DA into account, and HRA will differ based on the posting city.

New Basic Salary Formula

• Old Basic Salary X Fitment Factor = Revised Basic Salary

• This formula will be used to estimate basic salary revisions in all levels, ranging from Level 1 to Level 18.

Likely Total Salary

To understand this, let’s consider a Level-9 central government worker's current salary:

• Basic salary: Rs 53,100

• DA (58% of basic): Rs 30,798

• HRA (27% of basic for metro cities like Delhi): Rs 14,337

• Total current salary: Rs 98,235

• Revision Under 8th Pay Commission

• New basic salary: Rs 1,04,076

• DA reset: Rs 0

• HRA (27% of new basic): Rs 28,101

• Total salary: Rs 1,32,177

These numbers are estimates that could change after the formal announcement is made. However, they show a significant increase in central government employees’ take-home income.