By Admin 
- Heavy financial burden due to demand to increase minimum salary, HRA.
8th Pay Commission Salary Hike: The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the ‘Terms of Reference’ of the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) on 28 October. Apart from this, the government has also constituted the new CPC and issued its notification. The commission will have to submit its recommendations to the government within 18 months of its formation. Under the Eighth Pay Commission, about 50 lakh central government employees, including defense services personnel, and about 69 lakh pensioners will benefit.
Why is the 8th Pay Commission the most expensive?
It is being told that the Eighth Pay Commission will be the most expensive pay revision in the history of India so far because due to the huge increase in the number of employees and pensioners and the demand for major changes in the fitment factor and allowances, this time it is expected to be the biggest financial burden on the government treasury. More than 1.2 crore families will be affected by the salary revision under the Eighth Pay Commission. These include more than 50 lakh central employees and more than 65 lakh pensioners.
Currently, under the 7th Pay Commission, the minimum basic salary is Rs 18000. Under the 8th Pay Commission, various employee organizations have demanded to increase the fitment factor from 1.92 to 3.83 times. Organizations like Bharatiya Immunity Mazdoor Sangh have even proposed to increase the minimum basic pay from Rs 18000 to Rs 72000 (4 times fitment factor).
Proposal to increase allowances also
Organizations like All India NPS Employees Federation have demanded increasing the HRA from 30%, 20% and 10% to 36%, 24% and 12% respectively in view of the rising cost of living in big cities. Since all the allowances are decided according to the basic salary, if the basic salary increases, the expenditure on allowances will also automatically increase. Recent reports show that the total expenditure on increased salary and pension under the 8th Pay Commission may reach more than Rs 4 lakh crore. Including the arrears of the last five quarters, the total financial burden can reach close to Rs 9 lakh crore, making it the most expensive salary revision till date.
Also read:
Adani Group is preparing India’s ‘Einstein’! RSI-India: Students of the country will get free scientific training in 2026