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The 8th Pay Commission led by Justice Ranjana Desai may set the fitment factor between 1.83 and 2.46, impacting salaries for over 50 lakh employees and 65 lakh pensioners.
8th Pay Commission: Fitment factor may range between 1.86 to 2.57
8th Pay Commission Salary Hike Expectation: As the 8th Pay Commission has begun working to formalise the recommendations after the notification of terms of reference (TOR) last month, there has been a lot of anticipation among employees and pensioners on how much fitment factor will be fixed. Fitment factor plays a crucial role in factoring out the hike in salaries and pension. It is a formula used as a multiplier to calculate the revised basic pay from the previous structure.
Fitment factor will be confirmed after the Union cabinet approves the Commission’s recommendations.
Headed by Justice (Retd.) Ranjana Desai, the 8th Pay Commission is expected to submit the recommendations on salaries, basic pay, fitment factor, and all of that to within 18 months.
How Is Fitment Factor Fixed?
Fitment factor is decided on the basis of several factors including inflation, cost of living index, and Dr. Wallace R. Aykroyd’s formula. The last one is a method originally proposed to calculate a need-based minimum wage. It factors in costs for essentials like food, clothing, and housing for a worker plus family, often a spouse and two children, based on consumption units.
The 7th pay commission had fixed the fitment factor at 2.57.
8th Pay Commission Fitment Factor Expectation Expectation
The staff side of National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), earlier, told NDTB profit that it is expected that 8th pay commission to recommend a fitment factor that could be similar to 7th pay panel.
Ambit report in July suggested that the fitment factor is expected to be fixed in the range of 1.83 to 2.46.
“As per back-of-the-envelope calculations, depending on the salary growth seen over different Pay Commissions, the range of fitment factors that the government could be looking at lies between 1.83 and 2.46,” financial services firm Ambit Capital said in a report.
8th Pay Commission Salary Calculator: How Much Salary Will Be Increased?
Going by Ambit Capital’s expectation of a fitment factor between 1.83 and 2.46, the minimum salary of central government employees may be fixed between Rs 32,940 and Rs 44,280, compared with the current Rs 18,000 a month.
A fitment factor of 1.83 would raise the basic salary from Rs 18,000 to around Rs 32,940, while a factor of 2.46 would raise it to Rs 44,280.
The final increase in salaries will depend on the fitment factor decided. The 8th Pay Commission will revise salaries, pensions, and allowances, directly benefiting over 50 lakh central government employees and over 65 lakh pensioners.
Ambit Capital in the report estimates that the 8th Pay Commission may result in a minimum 14% real hike in pay (including Basic Pay+DA) and a maximum of 54%. However, the maximum 54% hike in real pay is highly unlikely as the government could face significant financial challenges in implementing the same.
“While the government might consider a higher increase, potentially using it as a consumption stimulus, expecting a substantial 54% jump (as seen during the 6th Pay Commission) seems unlikely, since it could face significant financing challenges,” the report said.
Salary Projections Across Pay Grades
To help employees estimate what they might earn, here are examples of revised salaries at different fitment factors 1.92 and 2.57 across select grade pays (1900, 2400, 4600, 7600, 8900). These examples also include allowances such as House Rent Allowance (HRA), Transport Allowance (TA), National Pension System (NPS), and Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS).
It is important to note that HRA is taken as 24 per cent of basic salary (for X-class cities), TA varies from Rs 3,600 to Rs 7,200 depending on the level, NPS is 10 per cent of basic, and CGHS is kept at current rates, according to India.com.
For Grade Pay 1900:
At 1.92 fitment factor:
Basic: Rs 54,528 | HRA: Rs 13,086 | TA: Rs 3,600
Gross: Rs 71,215 | NPS: Rs 5,453 | CGHS: Rs 250
Net: Rs 65,512
At 2.57 fitment factor:
Basic: Rs 72,988 | HRA: Rs 17,517
Gross: Rs 94,105 | NPS: Rs 7,299
Net: Rs 86,556
For Grade Pay 2400:
At 1.92 fitment factor: Basic: Rs 73,152 | Net: Rs 86,743
At 2.57 fitment factor: Basic: Rs 97,917 | Net: Rs 1,14,975
For Grade Pay 4600:
At 1.92: Basic: Rs 1,12,512 | Net: Rs 1,31,213
At 2.57: Basic: Rs 1,50,602 | Net: Rs 1,74,636
For Grade Pay 7600:
At 1.92: Basic: Rs 1,53,984 | Net: Rs 1,82,092
At 2.57: Basic: Rs 2,06,114 | Net: Rs 2,41,519
For Grade Pay 8900:
At 1.92: Basic: Rs 1,85,472 | Net: Rs 2,17,988
At 2.57: Basic: Rs 2,48,262 | Net: Rs 2,89,569
Varun Yadav is a Sub Editor at News18 Business Digital. He writes articles on markets, personal finance, technology, and more. He completed his post-graduation diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Inst…Read More
Varun Yadav is a Sub Editor at News18 Business Digital. He writes articles on markets, personal finance, technology, and more. He completed his post-graduation diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Inst… Read More
November 22, 2025, 16:00 IST
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