8th Pay Commission: The central government employees and pensioners are likely to get an immediate salary hike under the 8th Central Pay Commission. Despite January 1 2026 being frequently cited as the effective date of the 8th Pay Commission there is no automatic revision of salaries or pensions from this date. It is important to note that the central government reviews the salaries allowances and pensions of central government employees and pensioners every 10 years. The 7th Pay Commission ended on December 31 2025. To recall the Modi government approved the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 8th Pay Commission in November 2025. According to the reports the commission may take about 18 months to submit its recommendations. Until the Cabinet approves the new recommendations the Central government employees and pensioners will continue to receive their salaries as per the 7th Pay Commission. When is the 8th Pay Commission likely to be implemented? Considering the historical timelines of previous pay commissions the actual implementation of revised pay scales is unlikely in 2026 and could linger into 2027. Until then central government employees and pensioners will continue to draw salaries and pensions as per existing 7th Pay Commission norms along with applicable DA revisions. Here are some of the key details: At present DA has reached 58 percent from July 1 2025 and the next hike is due from January 1 2026. As per existing rules DA will continue to increase every six months until the new Pay Commission is implemented. Once the fitment factor is applied the entire DA will be added to the basic pay and DA will then be recalculated afresh on the new basic pay. While the implementation may be delayed the January 1 2026 cut-off date remains important. Once the 8th Pay Commission recommendations are approved and notified the revised pay and pension will be retrospectively applicable from January 1 2026. This means employees and pensioners will be entitled to arrears for the entire intervening period. Manjit Singh Patel President of the All India NPS Employees Federation has said that if DA reaches around 74 percent by January 2028 the government should merge only 50 percent of DA into the basic pay instead of eliminating the entire DA and continue the remaining 24 percent as DA. This would reduce the impact on employees’ take-home pay during a period of high inflation. He also demanded that the fitment factor be kept at 2.64 and that while fixing the minimum wage the family unit size should be increased from three to five. Now it remains to be seen whether the government follows the old formula or finds a middle path for employees.