8th Pay Commission Breaking: 5 Promotions, OPS Back, CGHS ₹20K – What Staff Bodies Want Now
th Pay Commission Twist: Govt staff demand 5 career promotions, full OPS revival, and CGHS allowance exploding from ₹1K to ₹20K! Will this rewrite 50L+ salaries by 2026? NC-JCM’s bold memorandum looms—what’s YOUR payout windfall? Discover the stakes now before it’s finalized!
What exactly is happening in the 8th Pay Commission?
The 8th Pay Commission is examining salary structure, allowances and pensions of central government employees, with its recommendations expected to impact pay from around 2026 onward. In February 2026, the National Council (Staff Side) of the Joint Consultative Machinery (NC‑JCM) met in Delhi to consolidate employee demands before sending a common memorandum to the 8th CPC.
Employee representatives from railways, defence, postal, income tax, accounts, audit and other central departments participated and reached broad consensus on key issues like minimum pay, promotions, pension policy and health benefits. They also discussed how to answer 18 questions placed by the 8th CPC on its website, which will help the Commission understand ground realities of staff and pensioners.
Key demands: 5 promotions, OPS restoration, higher CGHS allowance
1. Minimum five promotions for every employee
A major pain point raised is stagnation: many talented employees spend 10–15 years or more in the same grade due to limited promotional avenues. Staff leaders have therefore demanded that the government guarantee at least five promotions in the full service period of every central government employee.
The idea is to redesign promotion policies and cadre structures so that pay progression is not restricted only to a few posts at the top, but distributed across levels. This is expected to improve motivation, reduce attrition to the private sector and reward performance and experience more fairly.
2. Abolish NPS/UPS and restore Old Pension Scheme (OPS)
The NC‑JCM staff side has reiterated a long‑pending demand: scrap the National Pension System (NPS) and Unified Pension System (UPS) and restore the defined‑benefit Old Pension Scheme. Under NPS, pension depends on market returns and accumulated corpus, which many employees feel is uncertain and inadequate compared to guaranteed OPS pension linked to last drawn salary.
Employee bodies argue that government service is a long‑term commitment and should come with assured social security in old age, especially when private sector salaries are often higher during working years. They want 8th CPC to clearly recommend restoration of OPS for all central government employees, including those currently under NPS.
3. Huge hike in CGHS allowance (from ₹1,000 to ₹20,000)
At present, employees and pensioners posted in areas without CGHS‑empanelled hospitals get only about ₹1,000 per month as a medical allowance under the Central Government Health Scheme. In the NC‑JCM meeting, staff representatives demanded that this be increased to ₹20,000 per month to reflect real medical costs in non‑CGHS locations.
This demand is particularly crucial for retirees and serving staff in smaller cities and rural postings, where they rely on private hospitals and local clinics and often pay hefty bills out of pocket. With healthcare inflation rising and CGHS package rates already revised upward for many procedures, a higher allowance is seen as essential to maintain basic medical security.
Other major points raised by employee bodies
Along with promotions, OPS and CGHS, the staff side has put several other structural suggestions on the table. These demands together try to tackle pay disparity, rising costs and future pension adequacy.
- Increase family units from 3 to 5 for pay calculation: Employees want the number of “family units” used in some pay/allowance computations to be raised from 3 to 5 to better reflect actual dependants and cost of living.
- Same fitment factor for employees and pensioners: The demand is to apply the same fitment factor when revising pay and pensions, ensuring pensioners are not left behind in each pay commission cycle.
- Fitment factor around 3.25x: Several employee groups have suggested a 3.25 times fitment factor over 7th CPC basic pay to determine new pay under the 8th CPC, which would mean a significant hike in basic pay.
- Reduce pay disparity: The proposal is that maximum basic pay should not be more than 10 times the minimum basic pay, compared to about 13 times under the 7th CPC.
- Higher annual increment: With inflation and lifestyle costs rising, staff bodies have also pressed for an increase in the annual increment rate so that real income doesn’t erode quickly between pay commissions.
These points will go into a common memorandum being drafted by staff organisations, which they plan to submit to the 8th CPC chairperson Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai in the coming weeks.
What these demands could mean for you
If you are a central government employee or pensioner, the outcome of these discussions can directly affect your pay slip, career growth and retirement planning. Here is how each major demand might translate at an individual level if accepted.
| Aspect of service | Current situation (broadly) | Proposed change in 8th CPC discussions | Possible impact on you |
| Promotions | Often 2–3 promotions in full career for many cadres, leading to stagnation. | Minimum 5 promotions guaranteed per employee. | Faster grade progression, higher last drawn pay, better morale. |
| Pension system | NPS/UPS for post‑2004 entrants, return‑linked and market‑dependent. | Abolish NPS/UPS, restore guaranteed OPS pension. | Predictable post‑retirement income, higher sense of security. |
| CGHS allowance (non‑CGHS areas) | Around ₹1,000 per month medical allowance. | Raise to ₹20,000 per month. | More realistic support for private treatment costs in small towns. |
| Pay disparity | 7th CPC max basic ≈ 13× minimum basic. | Cap max basic at 10× minimum basic. | Narrower gap between junior and senior levels, more equitable structure. |
| Fitment factor | 7th CPC used 2.57x fitment factor in general. | Demand for about 3.25x factor in 8th CPC. | Higher jump from 7th CPC basic to new 8th CPC basic pay. |
Even partial acceptance of these proposals could substantially improve earnings and benefits, especially for those in early and mid‑career stages who still have multiple decades of service left. For pensioners and late‑career employees, OPS restoration and a stronger fitment factor could be the biggest game‑changers.
Practical steps employees should take now
While final recommendations and government decisions are still months away, you can start preparing strategically. These steps are based on how previous pay commissions have affected employees and how the current demands are shaping up.
- Track official updates regularly
- Follow NC‑JCM statements, staff union circulars and 8th CPC notifications to understand which demands are gaining traction.
- Avoid relying on rumours or unverified social media forwards; check trusted financial and government news portals for confirmed developments.
- Evaluate your promotion prospects
- Review your service record, length of service and upcoming departmental exams or DPC schedules so you know where you stand in the current structure.
- If promotion rules change in line with the five‑promotion demand, being ready with qualifications, APARs and clear vigilance status will help you benefit early.
- Revisit your retirement and NPS planning
- If you are under NPS, continue to track your corpus, asset allocation and retirement target even as the OPS debate continues.
- In case OPS is restored, rules on transition, past contributions and service counting will be crucial, so keep your service details and documentation properly updated.
- Plan for health expenses realistically
- Check whether you fall under CGHS‑covered areas or rely on the existing ₹1,000 allowance and personal insurance.
- Even if the ₹20,000 allowance demand is accepted, maintaining a separate health insurance policy for yourself and family will remain prudent, given rising treatment costs.
- Participate constructively in staff‑side consultations
- Large federations and department‑level unions are still refining their common memorandum; employees can share ground‑level issues through these channels.
- Issues such as remote postings, disability, women employees’ needs and contractual staff experiences often get better representation when more voices actively engage with staff bodies.
Why timing and presentation matter for Google Discover readers
For anyone following central government policy, this phase is a “live window” where key demands are being finalised, which makes it an ideal topic for platforms like Google Discover that prioritise fresh, trending and authoritative content. The ongoing NC‑JCM meetings, upcoming common memorandum and formal submissions to the 8th CPC create continuing news hooks that will drive repeated updates over the next few weeks and months.
Discover also tends to highlight content that is useful to people in their daily lives, and decisions on promotions, OPS and CGHS directly influence financial planning, job decisions and retirement security for millions of families. For readers, the most important thing right now is to understand that these are demands under discussion, not final decisions, and to plan ahead with both possibilities in mind—partial acceptance or phased implementation.
