The Union Cabinet has approved a 3% increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners. This will be Effective from July 1, 2025. This revision increases the DA and DR by 3 per cent. Currently, DA stands at 55% of basic pay. This will be increased to 58%.

In this current scenario, more than 1.2 crore government employees and pensioners are enthusiastic to know when they can see a hike in salary. The primary step for the salary hike is the official formation of the 8th pay commission. Despite the government’s approval on January 16, 2025, the Pay Commission has not been formally constituted.

Terms of Reference (ToR) 

The ToR (Terms of Reference) is very important for starting any pay commission’s work. It sets the rules for deciding salaries, allowances, retirement benefits, and other related matters. The ToR acts as the base for the commission’s functioning. The chairman and members can be appointed only after the ToR is finalised. Without it, the commission is not officially formed and cannot begin its work.

8th pay commission TIMELINE: Why 2028 is going to be a deadline?

8th pay commission TIMELINE: The experience of previous pay commissions has left central government employees and pensioners somewhat anxious about the process and implementation of the 8th Pay Commission. Both the 6th and 7th Commissions took at least two to three years from their formation to final rollout. According to a Financial Express report, the 8th Pay Commission is also expected to follow a similar timeline and pattern and may not be implemented before 2028.

Timeline of the 6th Pay Commission

• The 6th pay panel was constituted in October 2006
• The commission report was submitted to the government in March 2008
• The government accepted the report in August 2008
• The government implemented the panel’s recommendations retrospectively from January 1, 2006
• So, it took approximately 22–24 months from the formation to the implementation of 6th Pay Commission

Timeline of the 7th Pay Commission

• Constituted in February 2014
• Terms of Reference (ToR) were finalised by March 2014
• The commission submitted its report in November 2015
• The government accepted the recommendations in June 2016
• The government implemented them from January 1, 2016
• This means that it took approximately 33 months (2 years and 9 months) from its formation to implementation
• This comparison clearly shows that both commissions took an average of 2–3 years

Current status of the 8th Pay Commission

• The big announcement was made on January 16, 2025.
• But the ToR or list of members has not yet been released.
• This means the actual process hasn’t even begun.