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8th Pay Commission Salary Hike: These days, only one question is being heard the most in government offices – when will the 8th Pay Commission be implemented? This curiosity is natural, because more than 50 lakh central employees and about 69 lakh pensioners are expecting improvement in their salary and pension from this commission.

The command of the 8th Pay Commission is in the hands of retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. The Commission is analyzing many important points, especially the fitment factor, before deciding the salary. The government had released the Commission’s Terms of Reference (ToR) on October 28, 2025, and set a deadline of 18 months to submit the report.

Why is fitment factor important?

Fitment factor plays the biggest role in the 8th salary hike. Think of it like a multiplier—the new salary is determined by multiplying the existing basic pay by this number. In simple words, this decides whether there will be a normal increase in salary or a big jump. In the 7th Pay Commission, the fitment factor was kept at 2.57, due to which the salary of the employees increased by an average of 14 to 16 percent.

How much can be the fitment factor in the 8th Pay Commission?

According to media reports and experts, the new fitment factor could be between 1.83 to 3.0. However, most estimates place it in the range of 2.15 to 2.57. If this happens, then it is possible to increase the salary of employees from pay level 1 to 18 by about 20 to 35 percent.

The thing to note is that its effect will be different at every level. If a uniform fitment factor is applied, officers in higher positions will see more benefits in rupee terms. Whereas lower level employees (Level 1 to 5) can get more benefits on percentage basis.

National Council (JCM) Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra believes that the fitment factor should be at least 2.57 or more. He says that this is the benchmark of the 7th Pay Commission and keeping it less than this may cause loss to the employees.

When can the new salary be implemented?

The commission can submit its report to the government by April 2027. But the new salary is not implemented as soon as the report is received. First the Finance Ministry and other concerned departments review the report, changes are made if necessary and then it gets Cabinet approval. This entire process usually takes about six months.