8th Pay Commission: How Much Salary Hike Can Central Government Employees & Pensioners Expect?

8th Pay Commission:  The central government employees and pensioners are waiting for the update on their new pay scales and pensions based on the establishment of the 8th Pay Commission. The commission on the fitment factor was chaired by Ranjana Prakash Desai. It is likely to set the fitment factor and then forward its report to the government. Then, employees in groups A, B, C, and D, along with the pensions, shall be affected.

8th Pay Commission: What is the fitment factor?

A fitment factor is a multiple by which one’s basic pay can be modified. For example, when the fitment factor is 2.57 for the 7th Pay Commission, an employee’s basic pay of Rs. 7,440 under the 6th Pay Commission can go to Rs. 18,000. According to Ramachandran Krishnamoorthy, director of payroll services at Nexdigm Solutions, the fitment factor is the most crucial element dictating the rate at which salaries must be increased.

8th Pay Commission: Projected salary increases based on fitment factors

• Fitment factor 2.15: Salaries will witness significant growth if the commission decides to approve the fitment factor at 2.15. For Level 1 employees, which includes all entry-level Group D staff, the basic pay of Rs 18,000 is likely to increase to Rs 38,700-an increase of Rs 20,700. For Level 10, which is the starting grade for Group A officers, the basic pay of Rs 56,100 may see a jump to Rs 1,20,615, which is an increase of Rs 64,515. For the senior-most Level 18, the basic pay of Rs 2,50,000 could soar to Rs 5,37,500, marking an increase of Rs 2,87,500.
• Fitment factor 2.57: Using the same multiplication factor as the 7th Pay Commission, pay is likely to increase from Rs 18,000 for Level 1 employees to Rs 46,260-an increase of Rs 28,260. Level 10 officers can see pay revised from Rs 56,100 to Rs 1,44,177, a hike of Rs 88,077. For Level 18, the jump in pay could be from Rs 2,50,000 to Rs 6,42,500 to reflect a rise of Rs 3,92,500.
• Fitment factor 2.86: A fitment factor of 2.86 would therefore lead to a steeper rise. The salaries of Level 1 employees might rise from Rs 18,000 to Rs 51,480, posting a jump of Rs 33,480. Level 10 employees might see an hike in salaries from Rs 56,100 to Rs 1,60,446, posting a rise of Rs 1,04,346. Level 18 officers might see a rise in basic pay of Rs 2,50,000 to a new figure of Rs 7,15,000, posting a rise of Rs 4,65,000, as reported by ET.

In the end, the final changes that would be made in the payment package would depend on the factor of fitment that would be suggested by the 8th Pay Commission and would be given approval by the Central Government.