As the Winter Session of Parliament is set to begin on December 1, central government employees are anxiously awaiting clarity from the government over the confusion surrounding the terms of reference (ToR) of the 8th Pay Commission, notified earlier this month. Beyond the ToR confusion, employees are also keen to know whether the DA (dearness allowance) and DR (dearness relief) will be revised in the January 2026 cycle.
All these concerns and confusion arise as the 7th Central Pay Commission’s 10-year cycle ends on December 31, 2025, which means the next DA/DR revision would be the first outside of the existing pay commission cycle. The 8th Pay Commission, for which the work is in progress, would be submitting the report for salary and pension revision in 18 months from now.
Meanwhile, alleged anomalies in the 8th CPC ToR, silence from the government on the issue, and totally different trends observed in past pay-commission works together have created confusion among 1.2 crore employees pensioners. Here is the full picture.
Employees unhappy with 8th CPC ToR
Soon after the government notified the ToR of the 8th Pay Commission, the staff side of the National Council of the Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) – which represents central government employees in formal discussions with the government – and several employee unions raised objections regarding the missing points in the document.
They say many of their key demands have been left out, even though they had previously submitted a detailed charter of demands. The biggest grievance is the absence of pension revision for existing pensioners and family pensioners in the ToR, which has caused widespread disappointment among pensioners.
Unions allege several long-standing anomalies—related to pay fixation, pension, minimum wages and fitment formula. They want 50% DA/DR merged with basic pay or pension, along with 20% interim relief from January 1, 2026. They also seek restoration of the Old Pension Scheme by scrapping NPS/UPS, release of the 18-month pandemic-period DA/DR arrears, and removal of the 5% cap on compassionate appointments.
Adding to employee frustration, the government has so far not responded on ToR concerns. However, since some MPs have raised questions on these ToR issues before the government, employees hope the Centre will offer clarity when Parliament starts session on December 1.
The root of the confusion: What happens after 31 December 2025?
The 7th CPC cycle ends on 31 December 2025. And, the 8th pay panel has been given up to 18 months to complete its report and submit it to the government. Once the report is submitted, it will take at least 6 months from there to get Cabinet approval and be implemented for salary and pension revision.
Past commissions have typically taken 6–12 months for implementation after the report submission. This, going by past trends, means the 8th CPC’s final implementation may happen only by late 2027 or early 2028.
There are two key questions here that have raised concerns among employees:
Will salary and pension revision be retrospective from 1 January 2026?
Will DA hikes stop after December 2025 since the 7th CPC cycle ends?
Let’s address each one.
Will the 8th CPC be implemented retrospectively? History says yes
Employees fear that since the ToR does not specify the implementation date, the government might not make the new pay structure applicable from January 1, 2026.
However, past trends provide strong reassurance:
7th Pay Commission:
Cabinet approval: June 2016
Implemented retrospectively from 1 January 2016
6th Pay Commission:
Cabinet approval: August 2008
Implemented retrospectively from 1 January 2006
Despite delays, each commission maintained the 10-year revision cycle and gave employees arrears dating back to the due date.
By this logic, the 8th CPC — no matter when it finalises — should also become effective from 1 January 2026.
Will DA hikes be paused until 8th CPC is implemented?
This is the biggest question among employees today.
The next DA cycle begins January 2026. Since DA for Jan–June is announced around March every year, the revision will be due just as the 7th CPC completes its term.
But here’s the important part: there is no policy or precedent for pausing DA just because a pay commission cycle has ended.
What past practice shows
After every pay commission:
DA continued uninterrupted, even after the earlier commission’s term ended.
DA kept rising twice a year until the next pay commission’s recommendations were implemented.
Once the new pay structure was introduced, the ongoing DA was merged with basic pay, and DA restarted from 0%.
This is exactly what happened during the shift from the 5th → 6th CPC and 6th → 7th CPC.
So, what will happen this time?
All indicators suggest:
DA hikes will continue twice a year (January and July), even in 2026 and 2027.
They will be calculated on the current 7th CPC basic pay.
Only when the 8th CPC is implemented will the accumulated DA be merged into the new basic pay and restart from zero.
Therefore, there is no basis for speculation that DA will be paused. Unless the government issues a fresh order (highly unlikely), DA hikes will continue as usual.
Currently, DA for central employees stands at 58% of basic pay after a 3% hike in the last revision.
