Central government employees are awaiting 8th Pay Commision recommendations, which will likely revise salaries and pension, while focus also being on arrears.
The 8th Pay Commission, formed in November 2025 will recommend revisions to the salaries and pensions of the central government employees based on various factors, including inflation. The commission will submit its report in May 2027 even as the 7th Pay officially concluded its 10-year term in December 2025. This means that the employees will get their arrears for the intervening period if the government implements the recommendations retrospectively from January 2026.
In addition to revised salaries and pensions, employees will also get arrears, which is the accumulated difference between the salary or ension employees currently receive under the 7th Pay Commission and the higher amount they are entitled to once the 8th Pay Commission recommendations are officially implemented.
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One key number that will determine the amount of arrears is the fitment factor, a multiplier that revises an employee's existing basic pay into a new, revised basic pay structure. The fitment factor and salary arrears are directly linked as the multiplier determines the revised basic pay, which will be the base for calculationg the due amount of backpay from the commission's implementation date.
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How Does Fitment Factor Revise Salaries?
Prior to 7th Pay Commission, the minimum basic pay of a central government employee was Rs 7,000. The government approved a fitment factor of 2.57. Multiplying this figure with baisc pay of Rs 7,000, the revised basic pay came around Rs 18,000 under the 7th Pay Commission.
In case of 8th Pay Commission, an employee, for example draws a basic pay of Rs 18,000 at Level 1 would get a revised basic pay of Rs 46,260, if a fitment factor of 2.57 is used. With Rs 35,400 at Level 6, the revised basic pay to hit Rs 90,978, while Rs 56,100 at Level 10 would increase it to Rs 1,44,177.
The final revised pay will completely depend on the Commission's recommendations and the pay matrix approved by the government. It must be noted that solely fitment factor will not determine the actual arrears. Dearness Allowance received under the current framework also plays a key role.
During the implementation of 7th Pay Commission, the existing DA was 125%. After being merged into the revised pay structure, and DA under the new structure started from zero. This adjusment will play a key role while determining arrears under the 8th Pay Commission. The difference between revised basic pay and existing basic pay cannot be simply be considered as entire amount of additional salary increase.
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For example, assuming basic pay amounts remain unchanged during the 12-month period for Level 1 at Rs 18,000, Level 6: Rs 35,40 and Level 10 at Rs 56,100. The government hiked teh dearness allowance from 58% to 60%, effective from January 1, 2026. It later approved 3% hike to 63% from July 1, 2026.
Considering an average DA rate of 61.5% for the 12 months from January to December 2026 and fitment factor of 2.57, the estimated arrears would be as follows:
| Basic Pay & DA | Level 1 | Level 6 | Level 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current basic pay | Rs 18,000 | Rs 35,400 | Rs 56,100 |
| Revised basic pay with 2.57 fitment factor | Rs 46,260 | Rs 90,978 | Rs 1,44,177 |
| Current basic pay and DA of 61.5% | Rs 29,070 | Rs 57,171 | Rs 90,601.50 |
| Monthly difference | Rs 17,190 | Rs 33,807 | Rs 53,575.50 |
| Approximate 12-month arrears | Rs 2,06,280 | Rs 4,05,684 | Rs 6,42,906 |
Based on the above calculations, an employee at Level 1 is likely to get nearly Rs 2.06 lakh as 12-month arrears if the 8th CPC adopts the same fitment factor of 2.57.
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