8th Central Pay Commission: Setup, Members & Terms of Reference (ToR)

The Government of India formally constituted the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) through a Gazette Notification dated November 3, 2025. The Commission is mandated to examine, review, and recommend changes to the pay structure, allowances, and retirement benefits of over 50 lakh Central Government employees and 69 lakh pensioners.

The recommended changes are expected to take retrospective effect from January 1, 2026.

Key Overview & Timeline

Parameter	Official Position
Cabinet Approval Date	January 16, 2025
Terms of Reference (ToR) Approval	October 28, 2025
Formal Constitution / Gazette Date	November 3, 2025
Effective Implementation Date	January 1, 2026 (Retrospective)
Time Frame for Submission	18 Months (Report expected by May–June 2027)
Official Portal	8cpc.gov.in

Commission Composition & Member Profiles

The Commission functions from its headquarters at Chanderlok Building, Janpath, New Delhi, under the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance:

1. Chairperson: Justice (Retd.) Ranjana Prakash Desai

• Role: Heading the 8th Central Pay Commission.
• Background: Former Judge of the Supreme Court of India and former Chairperson of the Press Council of India (PCI) as well as the Delimitation Commission of India.

2. Member (Part-Time): Prof. Pulak Ghosh

• Role: Expert Member analyzing economic and quantitative aspects.
• Background: Professor at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore and expert in data analytics, quantitative finance, and public policy economics.

3. Member-Secretary: Pankaj Jain, IAS

• Role: Administrative Head & Member-Secretary coordinating consultations and departmental data aggregation.
• Background: Senior IAS Officer managing executive proceedings and inter-ministerial coordination.

Approved Terms of Reference (ToR)

The Union Cabinet approved the formal Terms of Reference (ToR) outlining the scope, framework, and mandate of the 8th CPC:

1. Pay & Allowances Revision: To examine the structure of emoluments, allowances, and conditions of service across Civil, Defense, and Armed Forces personnel.
2. Pension Reform & Legacy Liabilities: To examine retirement benefits, family pensions, and assess unfunded liabilities of pre-NPS pension systems to ensure parity for legacy pensioners.
3. Fiscal Prudence & Macroeconomic Balance: To align salary hikes with state and national fiscal capacities without impairing funds earmarked for infrastructure and welfare initiatives.
4. State & Public Sector Parity: To review the potential financial impact on State Governments and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) that adopt the CPC matrix.
5. Autonomous Procedures: The Commission operates independently and devises its own timeline, questionnaire formats, and regional consultation schedules across various states.

Latest Progress Status

• Data Collection Complete: Ministries and administrative departments completed their digital submissions of salary and staff data on the 8th CPC portal by June 30, 2026.
• Regional Stakeholder Consultations: The Commission has been actively conducting stakeholder interactions across major regional hubs (including Delhi, Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Puducherry, and Chennai) to review union memorandums.
• Key Focus Area — Fitment Factor: Recognized staff associations, including NC JCM and BPMS, have submitted memorandums demanding a Fitment Factor above 3.0x to counter inflation and 7th CPC compression.