A 2.86 fitment factor is reported everywhere as a 186% pay rise. It is not. That is the increase in basic pay. Gross pay rises by about 88%, because your dearness allowance is swallowed by the new basic and restarts at zero.
Dearness allowance is currently 60% of basic pay, payable on top of it since 1 January 2026. When a pay commission takes effect, that DA is merged into the revised basic and the DA counter goes back to zero. You do not lose the money, it is already inside the new basic figure. But it stops arriving as a separate line, which is why the gross increase is roughly half the headline multiple.
| Level | Basic now | Basic revised | Gross now | Gross revised | Real rise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹ 18,000 | ₹ 51,480 | ₹ 36,360 | ₹ 68,274 | 87.8% |
| 4 | ₹ 25,500 | ₹ 72,930 | ₹ 54,210 | ₹ 98,409 | 81.5% |
| 7 | ₹ 44,900 | ₹ 1,28,414 | ₹ 91,070 | ₹ 1,70,538 | 87.3% |
| 10 | ₹ 56,100 | ₹ 1,60,446 | ₹ 1,18,110 | ₹ 2,15,780 | 82.7% |
| 13 | ₹ 1,23,100 | ₹ 3,52,066 | ₹ 2,45,410 | ₹ 4,64,886 | 89.4% |
Monthly figures at a 2.86 fitment factor, X-class city, entry cell of each level, including HRA and transport allowance. Basic pay rises 186% in every row. Gross does not.
Nothing is notified. Scenarios in circulation: 1.92 · 2.28 · 2.57 · 2.86 · 3.00 · 3.68.
At a fitment factor of 2.86, up ₹ 97,670 a month on your current gross.
Breakdown
Income tax is not deducted above: it depends on your NPS/OPS status, CGHS ward and state professional tax. Annual gross is ₹ 25,89,360. Put that into the in-hand calculator to see both tax regimes.
None of these is official. They are shown together so the spread is visible rather than anchoring on the one number that gets repeated most.
| Factor | Where it comes from | Minimum basic | Level 10 basic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.92 | Conservative Low-end analyst estimate | ₹ 34,560 | ₹ 1,07,712 |
| 2.28 | Moderate Central case in several forecasts | ₹ 41,040 | ₹ 1,27,908 |
| 2.57 | 7th CPC repeat The factor the 7th CPC actually used | ₹ 46,260 | ₹ 1,44,177 |
| 2.86 | Widely cited The figure most reported in coverage | ₹ 51,480 | ₹ 1,60,446 |
| 3.00 | Optimistic Upper end of mainstream estimates | ₹ 54,000 | ₹ 1,68,300 |
| 3.68 | Union demand Sought by staff federations | ₹ 66,240 | ₹ 2,06,448 |
Entry basic pay for every level of the current 7th CPC matrix, with the revised figure at three representative factors.
| Level | Typical post | Current | At 2.28 | At 2.86 | At 3.68 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MTS, Safaiwala, Chowkidar | ₹ 18,000 | ₹ 41,040 | ₹ 51,480 | ₹ 66,240 |
| 2 | LDC, Constable | ₹ 19,900 | ₹ 45,372 | ₹ 56,914 | ₹ 73,232 |
| 3 | Constable (skilled), Stenographer | ₹ 21,700 | ₹ 49,476 | ₹ 62,062 | ₹ 79,856 |
| 4 | Grade D Stenographer, Junior Clerk | ₹ 25,500 | ₹ 58,140 | ₹ 72,930 | ₹ 93,840 |
| 5 | Senior Clerk, Head Constable | ₹ 29,200 | ₹ 66,576 | ₹ 83,512 | ₹ 1,07,456 |
| 6 | Inspector, Assistant Section Officer | ₹ 35,400 | ₹ 80,712 | ₹ 1,01,244 | ₹ 1,30,272 |
| 7 | Section Officer, Sub-Inspector | ₹ 44,900 | ₹ 1,02,372 | ₹ 1,28,414 | ₹ 1,65,232 |
| 8 | Senior Section Officer | ₹ 47,600 | ₹ 1,08,528 | ₹ 1,36,136 | ₹ 1,75,168 |
| 9 | Assistant Accounts Officer | ₹ 53,100 | ₹ 1,21,068 | ₹ 1,51,866 | ₹ 1,95,408 |
| 10 | Group A entry, Assistant Commissioner | ₹ 56,100 | ₹ 1,27,908 | ₹ 1,60,446 | ₹ 2,06,448 |
| 11 | Senior Group A officer | ₹ 67,700 | ₹ 1,54,356 | ₹ 1,93,622 | ₹ 2,49,136 |
| 12 | Deputy Secretary level | ₹ 78,800 | ₹ 1,79,664 | ₹ 2,25,368 | ₹ 2,89,984 |
| 13 | Director | ₹ 1,23,100 | ₹ 2,80,668 | ₹ 3,52,066 | ₹ 4,53,008 |
| 13A | Senior Director | ₹ 1,31,100 | ₹ 2,98,908 | ₹ 3,74,946 | ₹ 4,82,448 |
| 14 | Joint Secretary | ₹ 1,44,200 | ₹ 3,28,776 | ₹ 4,12,412 | ₹ 5,30,656 |
| 15 | Additional Secretary | ₹ 1,82,200 | ₹ 4,15,416 | ₹ 5,21,092 | ₹ 6,70,496 |
| 16 | Special Secretary | ₹ 2,05,400 | ₹ 4,68,312 | ₹ 5,87,444 | ₹ 7,55,872 |
| 17 | Secretary | ₹ 2,25,000 | ₹ 5,13,000 | ₹ 6,43,500 | ₹ 8,28,000 |
| 18 | Cabinet Secretary | ₹ 2,50,000 | ₹ 5,70,000 | ₹ 7,15,000 | ₹ 9,20,000 |
Constituted 3 November 2025 under Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, with Prof. Pulak Ghosh (part-time member), Pankaj Jain (member-secretary). It is in its consultation phase: stakeholder memoranda closed on 15 June 2026, and regional hearings are under way.
No fitment factor has been recommended. The Commission is midway through its 18-month term and begins regional consultations in Jaipur on 31 August. Every figure in circulation, including the widely repeated 2.86, is an estimate rather than a recommendation.
The window for stakeholder memoranda closed. Staff federations have pressed for a fitment factor of 3.68; the Commission has not responded publicly to any specific figure.
Dearness allowance was raised to 60% of basic pay with effect from 1 January 2026, following Cabinet approval on 18 April. This matters for the 8th CPC because DA is merged into revised basic pay and restarts at zero.
Nobody knows yet, because no fitment factor has been recommended. What can be said precisely is the shape of it: at the widely quoted 2.86, basic pay rises 186% but gross pay rises about 88%, because your existing 60% dearness allowance is merged into the new basic and restarts at zero.
Staff federations have sought 3.68. Most press coverage repeats 2.86. More conservative analyst estimates sit nearer 2.28. All of these are estimates. The Commission has recommended nothing, and quoting any one of them as the figure is wrong.
No, and this is the most common misreading. The fitment factor multiplies basic pay only. Dearness allowance, currently 60% of basic, is subsumed into the revised basic and resets to zero, so it stops being paid on top. Across pay levels the gross increase at a 2.86 factor works out at roughly 82% to 89%, not 186%.
The Commission was constituted on 3 November 2025 with 18 months to report, pointing to around May 2027. Recommendations are widely expected to apply from 1 January 2026 with arrears, but neither the date nor the arrears have been confirmed.
Level 1 entry pay is ₹18,000 today. At the factors in circulation that becomes ₹ 34,560 at 1.92, ₹ 41,040 at 2.28, ₹ 46,260 at 2.57, ₹ 51,480 at 2.86, ₹ 54,000 at 3.00, ₹ 66,240 at 3.68.
Basic pension has historically been revised by the same fitment factor as basic pay. Coverage quoting a 20% to 30% pension increase is extrapolating from previous commissions, not reporting a recommendation.
Not directly. It covers central government employees, defence personnel and central pensioners. States usually adopt a similar structure afterwards, on their own timeline and sometimes with a different fitment factor.