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8th Pay Commission: The Narendra Modi-led Central government had earlier approved the 8th Pay Commission which will benefit millions of current government employees and retired personnel. To recall Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in January this year had said that once implemented the salaries and pensions of central government employees would be revised. However growing concerns have emerged among employees about whether the 8th Pay Commission will be implemented on time. It is important to note that the 8th Finance Commission is expected to submit its recommendations by the end of 2025 after which they are expected to come into effect from January 2026. First the Commission has to prepare its report. Then it will be submitted to the government. The government will then decide whether the recommendations are appropriate or not. Only after this will the approval be granted. Will there be a delay in the 8th Pay Commission? The proposal-submission-approval process may lead to its implementation in the financial year 2027 according to a report by Ambit. The report claims that salaries could see an increase of around 30 to 40 percent. Notably the Terms of Reference (ToR) have not yet been finalized. In such a case the implementation of the 8th Finance Commission may take longer than expected. According to an Economic Times report it could either be implemented by the end of 2026 or in early 2027. It is worth noting that the 7th Pay Commission was announced in February 2014 but came into effect two years later in January 2016. Once implemented by the government the 8th Pay Commission will benefit 5 million current employees and 6.5 million retired central government employees. Here are some of the key details: The recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission will directly benefit approximately 44 lakh central government employees across various ministries and departments The 8th Pay Commission will benefit over 68 lakh pensioners totalling up to more than a crore direct beneficiaries. Notably the 4.4 million central government employees and armed forces personnel represent 0.7% of India’s 60 crore labour force and nearly 9% of the formal sector