8th Pay Commission update: In a matter of great news for central government employees across the county reports have it that the new central 8th Pay Commission may announce a massive Dearness Allowance (DA) hike. For the central government employees who are closely watching what lies ahead for their pay allowances and pensions here is the quick update around the expectations around 8th Pay Commission implementation including the expected hike fitment factor and DA.

When will 8th Pay Commission get implemented?
For a background readers can note that a new Pay Commissions reshapes salaries every ten years and as per the official schedule the 7th Pay Commission has already ended on December 31 2025. Therefore the 8th Pay Commission is in effect from January 1 2026 and its Terms of Reference (ToR) were already approved by the government in November 2025. However based on past schedules of implementations the Commission may take around 18 months to submit its recommendations. Therefore the employees will continue to receive salaries under the 7th Pay Commission structure until the Cabinet approves the final report.

Expected Dearness Allowance hike
The biggest concern during this transition period is salary revision and Dearness Allowance (DA). DA is a major issue because once a new Pay Commission is implemented the entire accumulated DA is merged into the basic salary and DA restarts from zero. Historically whenever a new Pay Commission is implemented the government pays arrears for the entire interim period. These arrears include revised basic pay allowances and retirement benefits all calculated using the new fitment factor thereby meaning that employees can expect a sizeable lump-sum payment once the 8th Pay Commission is approved. Currently DA stands at 58% from July 1 2025 with the next hike due on January 1 2026.
According to a report carried by Live Hindustan quoting Manjeet Singh Patel of the All India NPS Employees Federation if DA reaches around 74% by January 2028 the government should merge only 50% into basic pay and continue the remaining 24%. They have also demanded a fitment factor of 2.64 and increasing the family unit from three to five for minimum wage calculations.