Thu, Jan 22, 2026
8th CPC: Fitment Factor Under Consideration As Employees, Pensioners Await Payout Hike
According to experts, implementation of the recommendations will take more time than expected, as the panel is yet to submit its report to the government. Fitment factors under consideration are 2.15, 2.57, and 2.86
Jan 20, 2026 · 2 min read
Following the announcement of the formation of the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) last year, lakhs of Central government employees and pensioners have been waiting for their payout hike. But this would primarily be hinged on the fitment factor and recommendations of the pay panel constituted under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court Judge Justice (retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai.
Once the fitment factor has been decided and the government approves the panel report, all Central government employees (irrespective of their groups of services), along with the pensioners, will see a hike in their basic salary and pension.
Currently, the fitment factors (a multiplier used to determine the revised salary of an employee) under consideration are 2.15, 2.57, and 2.86.
The following is a breakdown of the revised payscale for fitment factors 2.15, 2.57, and 2.86:
In an official note issued earlier, the government had said that pay commission recommendations are generally implemented once every ten years. “Usually, the recommendations of the pay commissions are implemented after a gap of every ten years. Going by this trend, the effect of the 8th CPC recommendations would be expected from January 1, 2026,” it had noted.
Immediate Pay Revision Unlikely
However, according to the ICRA, it would take more time. Based on previous pay commission cycles, once the panel report is submitted, the government usually takes another three to six months to study, approve, and formally notify the recommendations. Since the report is not yet ready, experts believe that the implementation may only happen in late 2027 or even early 2028. This suggests that an immediate revision in salaries is quite unlikely.
A study conducted by the ICRA had shown that the government’s wage bill would rise sharply in FY2028, and this increase would come from the retrospective implementation of the 8th CPC, which was most likely to have been effective from January 1, 2026. As a result, salary arrears would accumulate for nearly 15 months, adding to the government’s committed expenditure in both FY2028 and FY2029.
It went on to warn that delayed implementation could lead to a heavy financial burden. According to the agency, the pile of arrears could push salary-related spending up by 40% to 50% in the FY2028 Budget. Such a sharp rise would reduce the government’s flexibility to spend on discretionary items, including capital expenditure, during that year.
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