8th Pay Commission: The government has given an update on the 8th Pay Commission in the Parliament. This includes discussion on OPS restoration, cashless medical facility and education allowance for children of government employees. Know the full details.
8th Pay Commission: Big news has come out for government employees and pensioners. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary shared important information in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday regarding the 8th Pay Commission. He said that many employee organizations have made important recommendations to the commission. These include demands like restoration of Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and increase in Standard Consumption Norms (SCN).
Demand for restoration of OPS intensifies again
The most important demand of employee organizations is that the old pension scheme should be implemented again. OPS should be restored especially for those employees who have joined government service after 1 January 2004.
If this demand is accepted, then lakhs of employees will get the benefit of assured and permanent pension after retirement, which is currently market dependent under the New Pension Scheme (NPS). They can then choose the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), in which money is also deducted from their salary.
Way to increase basic salary
It has also been recommended by the organizations that the Standard Consumption Norm (SCN) be increased from the current 3% to 3.6%. This norm determines how much income a person should have to meet minimum nutrition and needs. This increase will have a direct impact on the basic salary of the employees. If this proposal is accepted, then a significant increase in the salary of the employees is possible.
Education allowance and cashless medical facility
Employee organizations have demanded to restore education allowance for children, so that government employees get relief in the expenses related to education. Also, it has been recommended to implement cashless medical facility for employees and pensioners, so that they do not have to bear the financial burden during treatment.
When will the 8th Pay Commission be implemented?
The formal announcement of the 8th Pay Commission has been made in January 2025 itself. But, its Terms of Reference (ToR) have not been decided yet. The Commission will give its formal recommendations only after these terms are decided. The government has already made it clear that the recommendations of the Commission will be implemented from January 1, 2026. This means that if there is a delay in the recommendations of the Commission, then the employees and pensioners will get the arrears.
How many people will benefit?
If the recommendations of the Commission are implemented, then about 35-45 lakh existing employees and 68 lakh pensioners will get the benefit. This step is considered to be very impressive from the social and economic point of view of the central government. This is also expected to give impetus to the consumption-based economy.
These recommendations have just come from the employee organizations and the final decision on them has to be taken by the government. However, this information in Parliament from the Minister of State for Finance shows that the government is very active about the 8th Pay Commission. The commission’s process is expected to speed up in the coming months.
