8th Pay Commission: No terms of reference, no chairman - Delay in gazette notification sparks concerns

8th Pay Commission Latest News: Recently, NC JCM Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra wrote to the Cabinet Secretary seeking clarity on the delay.

When is the Centre going to issue the gazette notification for the 8th Pay Commission? Six months after the government announced the decision to set up a new Central Pay Commission, there has been no real forward movement. The delay in the 8th Pay Commission timeline has now outpaced the existing 7th Pay Commission, which is set to end this year.

The 8th Pay Commission was expected to replace the existing CPC, but with the crucial lag in the Terms of Reference and the announcement of the Chairman, it looks like the upcoming CPC is going to miss the January 2026 cutoff. Back in January, while making the announcement, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said that the 8th Pay Commission’s Chairman and two other members for the committee would be announced soon. As of July 1, 2025, there has been no official circular in this regard.

Interestingly, the delay in the notification has now surpassed the 7th Central Pay Commission’s lag. In 2013, the 7th Pay Commission was made official on September 25. It took around 156 days for the Central government to notify the Terms of Reference on February 28, 2014.

Flash forward to 2025. Since the January 16 announcement by Vaishnaw, it has been more than 160 days, and there is no buzz on the ToR so far.

The delay has sparked concerns among central government employees as well as senior officials. Recently, NC JCM Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra wrote to the Cabinet Secretary seeking clarity on the delay.

The formal communication stated that all discussions have been held and that the suggestions from the Staff Side of NC-JCM have also been submitted. The letter said there has been an "absence of timely communication."

It also mentioned confusion among the stakeholders. The letter further said that the administration should adhere to the January 2026 timeline. In fact, it was expected that the 8th Pay Commission should have been formally set up by February 2025, but nothing like that has happened.