8th Pay Commission in Budget 2025? What JCM members say

Ahead of the upcoming Union Budget for financial year 2025-26, scores of central government employees and pensioners are expecting an announcement related to the 8th Pay Commission.

The expectations were fueled after a delegation of central trade union leaders met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday, and urged for the immediate constitution of the 8th Pay Commission.

Amid the growing buzz, two key members of the National Council of the Joint Consultative Machinery, or NC-JCM, indicated that there is nothing definite to conclude that the 8th Pay Commission would be announced in the upcoming budget.

The NC-JCM, which comprises bureaucrats and employee forum leaders, serves as an official platform to resolve all disputes between the government and its staff through dialogue. The body is headed by Union Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan.

On being asked whether the 8th Pay Commission could be announced in Budget 2025-26, NC-JCM Secretary (Staff Side) Shiv Gopal Mishra said, "It may happen, or maybe not. I can't say for sure."

"From our side, we have raised the matter with the government multiple times. I raised it with the Union Cabinet Secretary, who is also the chairman of the NC-JCM. He heard our concern, and told us that he would convey the same to the political leadership," Mishra told.

S B Yadav, the secretary-general of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers and NC-JCM member, said the forum has received no indication from the government so far on whether the 8th Pay Commission would be announced in the upcoming Budget.

"I have raised the matter with the government, and even wrote to the prime minister," he told. On being asked how the government has responded, Yadav said, "Till now they have been reluctant to make any announcement. We haven't heard anything so far."

The last pay panel, which was the 7th Pay Commission, was announced in the Interim Budget 2014 by the then Manmohan Singh-led central government. The panel's report was implemented nearly two years later, from Jan. 1, 2016 onwards.

Since the salaries are generally revised at a period of 10 years, staff associations believe that the next revision should come into effect from Jan. 1, 2026. However, they fear that the targeted date of implementation may be missed as pay commissions require more than a year to submit their reports to the government. This is followed by the government scrutinising the recommendations, before granting the approval.

As compared to the date of previous pay panel's formation, the announcement of 8th Pay Commission has been delayed. However, such a comparison should not be made as the 7th Pay Commission was announced as part of a pre-election budget, said senior bureaucrat TV Somanathan, while speaking to the news channel NDTV India in July. "What happened in 2014 was unusual," he had said.

In the Parliament session last month, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Mishra had clarified that there was no proposal presently under consideration with the government for the constitution of 8th Pay Commission.