In October, the central government gave a generous gift on Diwali by increasing the Dearness Allowance (DA Hike) for its employees by 3 percent. At the same time, there have been reports of a significant increase in salaries for central government employees next year, which the central government is expected to announce shortly.

Salary hikes up to 186%

Several media sources indicate that implementing a fitment factor of 2.86 in the 8th Pay Commission has the potential to increase the minimum salary of employees by 186%, as per the government. At present, employees are paid Rs 18,000 monthly as their initial salary as per the 7th Pay Commission, which can be increased to Rs 51,480 per month.

According to Shiv Gopal Mishra, the NC-JCM secretary, the government might consider setting a fitment factor of 2.86. This will exceed slightly the fitment factor of 2.57 recommended by the 7th Pay Commission. If this decision is taken, workers’ pay will see a substantial rise, and their retirement funds may increase by 186%.

At present, the pension is Rs 9,000 monthly and may potentially rise to Rs 25,740. The 7th Pay Commission, implemented in 2016, usually goes through updates every ten years and is expected to be completed by 2026. Although the precise date of when the 8th Pay Commission was set up is not known, reports from the media indicate that it could be disclosed in the upcoming budget for 2025-26. There are some indications that the government could reach a conclusion on this issue by December 2024 at the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery gathering.