8th Pay Commission: From TOR, Chairman Appointment To Implementation Date --Here's What Finance Ministry Has Said

The Finance Ministry has responded to questions pertaining to 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) in Lok Sabha. The response by Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on July 21, 2025 touched upon the questions posed by Members of Parliament, TR Baalu and Anand Bhadauria, regarding updates on formation of the pay panel; appointment of Chairperson and other members; Terms of Reference; and implementation of new pay scales.

On Constitution of 8th Pay Commission  Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Pankaj Chaudhary replied Lok Sabha: It has been decided by the government to constitute the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC). Inputs have been sought from major stakeholders, including Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Personnel & Training and from states.

 

On timeline of members, chairperson appointment she said: The chairperson and members of the 8th CPC would be appointed once the 8th CPC is notified by the Government.

 

On implementation of 8th Pay Commission Chaudhary said: Implementation would be taken up once the recommendations are made by the 8th CPC and are accepted by the government.

 

More than 1.2 crore central government employees and pensioners are eagerly awaiting the formation of the 8th Pay Commission which will revise their salaries and pensions. Despite the government's approval on January 16, 2025, the Pay Commission has not been formally constituted. The ToR and the appointment of the chairman and other important members have also not yet been completed.

 

The 8th Pay Commission will revise the pensions, allowances and salaries of central government employees and pensioners. It will also revise the Dearness Allowance as per inflation. The 8th Pay Commission benefits about 50 lakh central government employees, including defence personnel. It will also benefit around 65 lakh central government pensioners, including defence retirees.

The prospects for the Commission's implementation on January 1, 2026, appear bleak. While the tenure of the 7th Pay Commission ends on 31 December 2025 and the constitution of the new Commission is in limbo, the central government employees and pensioners are increasingly becoming anxious.

The 7th CPC was announced in September 2013 and its chairman and ToR were notified in February 2014. However, since the announcement of the 8th Pay Commission on January 16, 2025, the ToR of the Commission are still pending. The government has also not officially announced the appointment of the chairman and other members of the commission. This indicates a delay in the formation of the 8th CPC.

The National Joint Consultative Machinery (Staff Side)-NCJCM has written a letter to the government requesting that the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 8th Central Pay Commission be made public and the 8th CPC committee should be constituted at the earliest.

According to the Staff Side, the continued delay in the formal issuance of the ToRs has led to widespread speculation and uncertainty among central government employees and pensioners. It further stated that in the absence of clear and timely communication, apprehensions are growing among employees about the credibility of the announcement regarding the setting up of the 8th CPC. Many fear whether this move is a genuine administrative initiative or otherwise.