Assam has taken the lead among states and union territories (UTs) in setting up the 8th Pay Commission. Following up on the Centre’s decision to set up the new pay panel, the northeastern state has decided to establish a new pay commission, which will revise salaries and pensions for around 7 lakh serving employees and retirees.
Announcing the decision on January 1, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that Assam will be the first state to set up the 8th Pay Commission.
He also announced the name of the chairman who will head the commission. Assam’s former Additional Chief Secretary Subhas Das will head the panel.
Assam’s taking the lead among states assumes significance as the Centre has already set up its panel headed by Justice Ranjana Desai. The three-member panel has the mandate to submit its report within 18 months.
Assam’s 8th pay panel is also expected to submit its recommendations on restructuring pay, pension, allowances and service conditions for state government employees and pensioners within 18 months.
With the panel being formed in January 2026, revised pay scales and pensions may be implemented later in 2027 or early 2028. Arrears, however, are likely to be paid retrospectively from January 1, 2026.
Will Assam state govt employees get their salaries and pensions revised before the central staff?
The Centre announced the 8th Pay Commission formation in January 2025, and it took almost 10 months to finalise the Terms of Reference (ToR) and appoint the members of the commission. But in Assam’s case, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma not only announced the setting up of the commission but also appointed the chairman to look after the 18-month-long pay revision exercise.
Despite Assam speeding up the pay commission process, it is highly unlikely that it will implement the recommendations before the central government.
7th Pay Commission term ended on 31st December, 2025
Pay panels, at the centre and state levels, have a term of 10 years. The 7th Pay Commission’s tenure came to an end on 31st December 2025.
The 7th pay panel in Assam made its recommendations effective from April 1, 2017. The reference date, however, for calculating pay and pension as well as other benefits, remained January 1, 2016 – the same date that was for the central government employees.
Past precedents show that the Centre usually sets up the pay commission first, and states follow later. There is often a clear lag between the implementation dates of the Centre’s pay commission and those of the states. This is why some states in India are still paying their employees and pensioners as per the 6th Pay Commission, as they are yet to implement the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations.