8th Pay Commission and DA Merger with Basic Pay: Parliament to seek answers on 1st December, 2025

8th Pay Commission and DA Merger with Basic Pay as an immediate relief measure: Parliament to seek answers on 1st December, 2025

Parliament to Seek Answers on 8th Pay Commission and DA Merger on December 1

The Union Finance Ministry is set to face a crucial query in the Lok Sabha on Monday, December 1, regarding the long-pending demands for the constitution of the Eighth Central Pay Commission and the merger of Dearness Allowance (DA) with basic pay for central government employees and pensioners.

The question, listed for a written answer, has been posed by MP Shri Anand Bhadauria and directly addresses the growing anxieties among millions of government staff and retirees amidst persistent inflationary pressures.

The series of questions seeks to extract a clear official stance on two major issues:

1. The formation of the next Pay Commission.
2. The immediate relief measure of DA merger.

The specific points on which the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, is required to respond are:

(a) Whether the government has recently issued a notification for the constitution of the 8th Central Pay Commission.

(b) If so, the details of the notification, including the composition and terms of reference of the proposed commission.

(c) Whether the government proposes to merge the existing Dearness Allowance (DA) for employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners with the basic pay as an immediate relief measure. The question underscores that this demand stems from the perception that the current DA/DR mechanism has failed to keep pace with “real-time retail inflation” over the last three decades.

(d) If a DA/DR merger is proposed, the specific details and timeline for its implementation.

(e) If not, the government’s reasons for rejecting such a measure.

This parliamentary intervention comes at a time when central government employees’ unions have been increasingly vocal about their demands. The Seventh Central Pay Commission, whose recommendations were implemented from January 1, 2016, typically has a tenure of ten years. With 2026 approaching, the clamour for setting up the next commission has been growing.

Furthermore, employee unions have been arguing that the DA, which is periodically revised to offset inflation, has crossed a threshold (often 50%) that warrants its merger with basic pay, a practice last undertaken in 2004 before the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission. Such a merger would not only provide an immediate salary boost but also lead to higher increments and retirement benefits, as they are calculated as a percentage of basic pay.

The Finance Ministry’s response on December 1 will be closely watched by over 1 crore central government employees and pensioners, as it is expected to set the tone for future negotiations and could have significant implications for the central exchequer.

So far, the government has remained silent on both issues in an official capacity, making this upcoming parliamentary answer a potentially significant announcement.

Source: Lok Sabha Question List.