Archive · 22 Aug 2026
Why 8th Pay Commission’s 2.0 Factor May Not Double Salaries
The 8th Pay Commission may recommend a new way to calculate government employees’ salaries.
One number being discussed is a 2.0 fitment factor.
This would double an employee’s basic pay.
However, basic pay is only one part of a salary.
Employees also receive allowances such as dearness allowance, house rent allowance and transport allowance.
When a new pay system begins, some allowances may be recalculated or reset.
In an example, basic pay doubles from ₹35,400 to ₹70,800, but gross salary rises by about 30.5%.
The final increase will depend on the commission’s recommendations.
The 8th Pay Commission has not finalized a fitment factor, though 2.0 is being discussed as a possible benchmark.
For a Level 6 employee earning ₹35,400 basic pay, a 2.0 factor would raise basic pay to ₹70,800.
Under an illustrative calculation, gross salary would rise from about ₹67,260 to ₹87,792, or roughly 30.5%.
The difference reflects the assumed reset of dearness allowance from 60% to 0% and changes to house rent allowance.
The commission is consulting employees, pensioners and other stakeholders before making recommendations.
- Who
- Central government employees, pensioners and other stakeholders are involved in consultations with the 8th Central Pay Commission.
- What
- The commission is examining pay and allowance changes, including the possible effect of a 2.0 fitment factor.
- When
- The 8th Central Pay Commission was constituted in November 2025 and is currently gathering views.
- Where
- The commission has held interactions in Delhi and is scheduled to visit Jaipur, Chennai, Puducherry and Chandigarh.
- Why
- To gather stakeholder views and determine how basic pay and allowances should be structured under the new pay system.
- Possible fitment factor
- 2.0 is being discussed, but no factor has been finalized.
- Example employee
- Level 6 employee with current basic pay of ₹35,400.
- Basic pay at 2.0
- ₹70,800, representing a 100% increase.
- Illustrative current gross salary
- About ₹67,260, assuming 60% dearness allowance and 30% house rent allowance in an X-category city.
- Illustrative revised gross salary
- About ₹87,792, assuming 0% dearness allowance and 24% house rent allowance.
- Illustrative gross-salary increase
- About 30.5% under the 2.0 scenario.
- Previous commission comparison
- The 7th Pay Commission used a 2.57 fitment factor, while the government said the actual increase in pay and pension after accounting for dearness allowance was at least 14.29%.