Now, Application Deadline For 8th CPC Under-Secy Is July 31

This is the third time the DoPT has extended the deadline, since it had invited applications to fill the posts in April. As per the April notification, eligible candidates have to be officers of any all-India service or other organised Group A services of the Government of India. The first deadline for submitting applications was May 21, which was subsequently extended to June 10, and then to June 30. 

The move has sparked concerns among stakeholders — central government employees and pensioners — as they feel the delay could lead to deferment of the implementation of the Pay Commission award.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had, in January, decided in favour of constituting the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) in January, but it is yet to name its chairman and other members, or announce the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the panel. 

The staff side of the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery — an official forum representing central government employees and pensioners — expects the panel to be formally set up after the ToR is issued.

In the original circular, it was said that candidates “are expected to have prior experience in managing matters related to central government pay structures”. Additionally, applicants must possess strong data analytics capabilities to contribute effectively to the Commission’s objectives, and that the selected officers “will be appointed on a deputation basis for the duration of the Commission’s tenure”.

Irked by the inordinate delay in the notification of the ToR and the constitution of the panel, employees and pensioners associations have now begun requesting the government to expedite the process.

Recently, Railways Senior Citizens Welfare Society (RSCWS), an organisation dedicated to Railways pensioners, reached out to the Prime Minister Office with a request for expediting the constitution and the working of the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC).

The 8th CPC announcement had brought “immense relief and expectation” among over 47 lakh central government employees and 65 lakh pensioners across the country. But the delay in the formal constitution of the commission is leading to “growing uncertainty and apprehension”. 

“This prolonged silence and lack of concrete progress in formalising the commission are leading to growing uncertainty and apprehension among central government employees and pensioners,” RSCWS chairman T S Kalra said, in a letter to PM Modi.