8th Pay Commission salary hike: Will the report be submitted before May 2027? Government clarifies 18-month deadline
The 8th Central Pay Commission has been given 18 months from the date of its constitution to submit its recommendations, but the government has not confirmed whether the panel will submit its report before the deadline.
The clarification came in Parliament as central government employees and pensioners await recommendations on salaries, allowances and pensions. The Commission was constituted through a government resolution dated 3 November 2025 and is headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha on 10 August, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the Commission “will make its recommendations within 18 months of the date of its constitution”. The government also said that the Commission has not yet submitted its recommendations.
The 8th CPC’s official website also states that the Commission was constituted on 3 November 2025 and has been given 18 months to submit its report. This puts the broad deadline in May 2027.
8th Pay Commission deadline: What has the government said?
The latest parliamentary response does not provide a specific date for submission of the report beyond the 18-month timeframe.
The issue was also raised in the Rajya Sabha, where MP Neeraj Shekhar sought to know whether the Commission planned to submit its recommendations before the prescribed 18-month period. In his response, Chaudhary again referred to the 3 November 2025 resolution and reiterated the 18-month requirement, without committing to an earlier submission date.
This means there is currently no official confirmation that the 8th Pay Commission will finish its work ahead of schedule. The Commission can, however, submit interim reports on matters where recommendations are finalised earlier, according to the original government resolution.
The government has also not announced the date from which the Commission’s recommendations will become effective. In the Lok Sabha reply, Chaudhary said the Commission had not yet submitted its recommendations to the government.
Nearly 70 lakh civilian employees and pensioners could be affected
The government estimates that around 35.77 lakh central government civilian employees were in service as of 1 March 2026. In addition, there were approximately 33.76 lakh pensioners and family pensioners as of 31 December 2025. The pensioner figure excludes defence pensioners.
The Commission’s mandate covers issues including pay revision, allowances, pension, family pension and service conditions.
The Commission is currently in the consultation phase, meeting employee organisations, unions, pensioner bodies and other stakeholders. Its official website lists upcoming stakeholder consultations, including visits to Jaipur, Chennai, Puducherry and Chandigarh.
Separately, the Commission on 11 August partially modified its guidelines for engaging consultants. The revised categories include senior consultants, consultants and young professionals, with roles covering areas such as HR, legal research, IT, data analysis and data visualisation. The official 8CPC website lists this modification among its latest updates.
For now, therefore, the government’s position remains unchanged. The 8th Pay Commission has 18 months from its constitution to submit its recommendations, but there is no official confirmation that it will submit them before that deadline. Employees and pensioners will have to wait for the Commission to complete its consultations and submit its recommendations before the government decides on the final pay and pension changes.
