8th pay commission: How much salary hike would fitment factor of 2.57 or 3.83 give central govt employees?
The 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) in is in its consultation stage, with plans to engage with employee and pensioner associations, federations, and unions of central government, UT employees, and other stakeholders across the country. Last week, it completed meetings in Chennai and Puducherry and has scheduled state visits to Chandigarh and Bengaluru in the coming weeks.
During these meetings, the commission is examining changes to emoluments — for allowances (usually include Dearness Allowance, Dearness Relief, HRA), pay (usually includes salary structure, fitment factor, pay matrix), and other facilities/benefits, in cash or kind (includes increment, promotions, etc.), and other factors.
Formula for salary hike using fitment factor, explained
Fitment factor is a mathematical multiplier used by the pay commissions to convert an employee’s pre-revised basic salary (or retirees’ pension payout) into the new, revised basic salary structure. Today, we calculate how much salary hikes employees and pensioners can likely get from fitment factor of 2.57 or 3.83.
The primary formula used to calculate the salary hike to adjust fitment factor update is: Current basic pay x fitment factor = New basic pay.
Thus, under the 7th CPC, with a fitment factor of 2.57, basic pay for level 1 employees rose from ₹7,000 per month to ₹18,000 per month, as follows: ₹7,000 × 2.57 = ₹18,000.
What are the expectations for fitment factor from 8th CPC?
A number of employee and pensioners’ groups and stakeholders have called for a higher fitment factor from this pay commission. Overall, conservative projections by experts are between 1.83 and 2.00, while moderate estimates from the industry range between 2.00 and 2.57, and the highest proposal is for 3.83, according to a Clear Tax report.
However, discussions on the 8th CPC are still ongoing, and the fitment factor has not yet been decided. Further, once the 8th CPC recommendations are released, the Centre will also have to approve them before they are implemented.
Final recommendations are expected to impact over 1 crore individuals, comprising about 50 lakh central government employees and nearly 65 lakh pensioners, including defence and railway personnel and retirees. Notably, central government employees and armed forces personnel account for about 0.7% of India’s 60-crore workforce and nearly 9% of the country’s formal sector.
Fitment factor of 2.57 and 3.83: How much could salary increase?
Today, we calculate how much of a salary hike the moderate and high fitment factor proposals of 2.57 and 3.83 could provide beneficiaries. Check calculations below:
| Pay Matrix Level | 7th CPC Basic Salary | 8th CPC estimate: 2.57 fitment factor | 8th CPC estimate: 3.83 fitment factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | ₹18,000 | ₹46,260 | ₹68,940 |
| Level 2 | ₹19,900 | ₹51,143 | ₹76,217 |
| Level 3 | ₹21,700 | ₹55,769 | ₹83,111 |
| Level 4 | ₹25,500 | ₹65,535 | ₹97,665 |
| Level 5 | ₹29,200 | ₹75,044 | ₹1,11,836 |
| Level 6 | ₹35,400 | ₹90,978 | ₹1,35,582 |
| Level 7 | ₹44,900 | ₹1,15,393 | ₹1,71,967 |
| Level 10 | ₹56,100 | ₹1,44,177 | ₹2,14,863 |
| Level 13 | ₹1,23,100 | ₹3,16,367 | ₹4,71,473 |
| Level 18 | ₹2,50,000 | ₹6,42,500 | ₹9,57,500 |
Notably, the commission is expected to announce recommendations within 18 months since constitution (on 3 November 2025), as per the official timeline stated in the ToR. This means its absolute deadline to submit the report is May 2027.
Further, based on previous rollouts, the recommendations are likely to be fully implemented over a period of two years, by 2029 or 2030.
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
