New Delhi, October 2025: Millions of central government employees and pensioners are waiting for news about the 8th Pay Commission, which was announced in January 2025. However, even after several months, the government hasn’t formed the committee or decided its working guidelines. This delay has left many wondering when they will see revised salaries and pensions.
Why the Wait Matters
Pay Commissions are important because they decide:
- Salary increases for current employees
- Pension hikes for retirees
- Allowances and other benefits
- Long-term financial security
Looking at past trends, these commissions usually take 2-3 years to complete their work. If the 8th Pay Commission starts soon, employees might see new pay scales only by 2028, though they would get back-dated payments from January 2026.
The Government Restructuring Connection
Meanwhile, there might be an important reason for this delay. Sanjeev Sanyal, a senior government advisor, recently revealed that the government is conducting a massive mapping exercise to understand its own structure better. “We are right now doing an exercise of mapping the government to see where all various agencies and all are. And once that is completed before the end of the year, we will have a very good sense of the landscape of the Indian central government”, Sanyal said. [Click to view News on Interview with Moneycontrol]
In simple terms, the government is counting and checking:
- How many departments it has
- How many people work in each department
- Which departments are outdated
- Where more staff is needed
Sanyal explained, “The problem isn’t that we have too many government employees. The real issue is that we have too many people in old-fashioned departments and not enough in important new areas like cybersecurity.”
What This Means for the Pay Commission
- Experts think the government might be following this sequence:
- First, complete the government mapping (by December 2025)
- Then, restructure departments – merge some, close others, create new ones
- Finally, set new pay scales for this reorganized government
This approach makes sense because it would be wasteful to design new salary structures for departments that might be merged or closed soon. This will be effective to proposed terms of reference for 8th Central Pay Commission and accordingly the constitution of the CPC.
Past Examples of Reform
The government has already shown it’s serious about reform. For example:
- Drone regulations were simplified from 77 permissions to just 7
- Mapping rules were changed to allow services like Google Maps
- Several outdated organizations have been closed or merged
What’s Next?
While government employees wait anxiously, the mapping exercise is expected to finish by December 2025. After that, we might see movement on the Pay Commission front. The 8th Central Pay Commission Term and Reference may be drafted by the Govt. The new pay structure would then be designed for a more modern, efficient government that better serves the country’s needs.
The delay might be frustrating, but it could lead to a better-organized government and fairer pay systems in the long run.
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