8th Pay Commission Vs Other Seven Pay Commissions: Check How Much Minimum, Maximum Salary Increased Since India’s Independence

8th Pay Commission Update: The Following is the timeline of the previous seven pay commissions. Check Minimum And Maximum Salary Recommended By 7 Previous Pay Commissions

New Delhi: The Union cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 January 2025 approved setting up the 8th Pay Commission to revise salaries of nearly 50 lakh central government employees and allowances of 65 lakh pensioners.

Check timeline of the previous seven pay commissions and also the quantum of pay hikes --minimum and maximum --recommended by the Pay Commissions since India's Independence.

1st Pay Commission (May 1946 - May 1947)

Focused on rationalizing the pay structure after India's independence Introduced the concept of the “living wage" Minimum salary: Rs 55/month; maximum salary: Rs 2,000/month Beneficiaries: Around 1.5 million employees

2nd Pay Commission (August 1957 - August 1959)

Focused on balancing the economy and living cost Recommended the minimum wage of Rs 80/month; maximum of Rs 3000 per month. Introduced the 'socialistic pattern of society' Beneficiaries: Approximately 2.5 million employees

3rd Pay Commission (April 1970 - March 1973)

Recommended minimum pay of Rs 185/month, maximum of Rs 3,500 per month

Emphasized salary parity between public and private sectors Addressed inequalities in the pay structure Beneficiaries: About 3 million employees

4th Pay Commission (September 1983 - December 1986) 

Recommended a minimum salary of Rs 750/month, maximum of Rs 8,000/month.

Focused on reducing disparities in salaries across rank.

Introduced a performance-linked pay structure Beneficiaries: Over 3.5 million employees

5th Pay Commission (April 1994 - January 1997)

Recommended a minimum pay of Rs 2,550, maximum of Rs 26,000/month. Suggested reducing the number of pay scale Focused on modernizing government office Beneficiaries: Around 4 million employees

6th Pay Commission (October 2006 - March 2008)

Introduced Pay Bands and Grade Pay

Minimum salary: Rs 7,000/month; maximum salary: Rs 80,000/month Emphasized performance-related incentive Beneficiaries: Nearly 6 million employees

7th Pay Commission (February 2014 - November 2016)

Minimum pay raised to Rs 18,000/month; maximum pay Rs 2,50,000/month Recommended a new pay matrix instead of grade pay system Focused on allowances and work-life balance Beneficiaries: Over 10 million (including pensioners)

8th Pay Commission Pay Hike: How Much Salary Is Expected To Increase?

As per media reports the pay panel will base the fitment factor in the range of 1.92 to 2.86. Should the recommendation of 2.86 fitment factor is given a green signal, the minimum basic salary of a government employee would go up from Rs 18,000 per month to Rs 51,480. The minimum pension, based on the same factor will go up to from Rs 9,000 currently to Rs 25,740.