This is very important news for employees. Central employees and pensioners have been eagerly awaiting the Eighth Pay Commission's recommendations for a long time. The Commission is holding discussions with various employee organizations and holding meetings across the country regarding salary increases, allowances, and pensions. While discussions are underway to increase the basic salary from 18,000 to 72,000, no official decision has been made yet.

Various employee organizations have placed the greatest emphasis on the fitment factor
. The most important demand is to increase the fitment factor. The Seventh Pay Commission's fitment factor was 2.57. Now, several organizations have demanded a range between 2.86 and 3.8. They have also demanded increases in dearness allowance, house rent allowance, travel allowance, and other benefits.

Who proposed a 72,000 basic salary?
The Bharatiya Prakash Mazdoor Sangh has proposed to the Commission to apply a four-fold fitment factor to the basic salary. If this proposal is accepted, the basic salary, currently 18,000, could be increased to 72,000. However, this is only a proposal from the employee union. The Commission or the central  government has not yet approved it.

In meetings, employee organizations have also demanded the reinstatement of the Old Pension Scheme
(OPS). Many organizations have argued that the benefits of the old pension scheme should be extended instead of the new one.

Commission meetings are underway across the country.
The Eighth Pay Commission is visiting various states to interact with employees, pensioners, and organizations. Meetings were held in Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Srinagar, Ladakh, and most recently, Bhubaneswar. Following this, the Commission has scheduled a meeting in Kolkata. Currently, the Commission is studying all the suggestions and proposals received. The Commission will then submit its final report to the Central Government. Only after considering this report will the Central Government make a final decision on salary increases, fitment factors, and other demands. Therefore, employees and pensioners should note that no official announcement has been made regarding the basic salary of ₹72,000; this is merely a proposal.