8th Pay Commission: There will be a bumper increase in the salary of government employees! Know what is ‘fitment factor’ and how your new basic pay will be decided.

New Delhi/Lucknow. A very important and much awaited news is coming for lakhs of central employees and pensioners of the country. Under the 8th Pay Commission constituted by the Central Government, the process of preparing the new salary and pension outline of the employees has now been expedited. According to a special report of Bussiness Hindi, the increase in the in-hand salary of the employees in this new pay commission will entirely depend on the ‘Fitment Factor’. This is a multiplier by which the current basic salary of the employees is multiplied to determine the new revised basic pay. There are constant speculations among employee organizations and experts regarding its possible figures. What is fitment factor and how does salary change? In simple words, whenever a new pay commission is implemented, the old basic salary of the employees is multiplied by a certain number, which is called fitment factor. Mathematics of 7th Pay Commission: It is noteworthy that when the 7th Pay Commission was implemented in the year 2016, the government had fixed the fitment factor of 2.57x. Due to this, the minimum basic salary of central employees directly increased from ₹ 7,000 to ₹ 18,000 per month. What are the expectations in the 8th Pay Commission: As per the ongoing discussions and expert estimates, the fitment factor in the 8th Pay Commission is expected to range between 1.92x to 2.86x. However, various staff unions are demanding that it should be kept at a minimum of 3.00x or 3.25x in view of the rising level of inflation. Salary Calculation Formula (Expected Scenarios) If the government approves different fitment factor, what effect it will have on the minimum basic salary can be understood from the math given below: If 2.57x fitment factor remains (same as 7th CPC): Calculation: ₹18,000 (current minimum basic) × 2.57 Expected new basic salary: ₹46,260 If If 2.28x fitment factor is approved: Calculation: ₹18,000 × 2.28 Expected new basic salary: ₹41,040 If 3.00x fitment factor (employees’ demand) is adopted: Calculation: ₹18,000 × 3.00 Expected new basic salary: ₹54,000 Important note: As soon as the new fitment factor is implemented, the inflation rate of employees will increase. Dearness Allowance (DA), which is running beyond 60% under the 7th Pay Commission, will be merged with the new basic pay and reset to zero (0%). After this, future DA will be calculated on the basis of new basic salary. When will the new rule be implemented and who will get the benefit? The recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission are in principle considered effective from January 1, 2026. However, considering the time limit (18 months) for the formation of the Pay Commission and submission of its final report, the actual payment of the revised pay scales and the increased amount is expected to be received by the end of 2026 or early 2027. Administrative officials have made it clear that even if there is some delay in the report, the full arrears will be given to the employees and pensioners from January 1, 2026 itself. The direct benefit of this big decision will be given to more than 48.62 lakh serving central employees and more than 67.85 lakh pensioners of the country, which will not only improve their living conditions but other facilities like House Rent Allowance (HRA) and Transport Allowance (TA) will also be provided in the same proportion. Will increase.