Fitment factor constitutes an important aspect of determination of government salaries in the course of updating a pay commission. With the approaching 8 th Pay Commission, most of the employees working in the central government are wondering how their wages would rise. Just to make it simple and understandable, let us break it down.
What Is the Fitment Factor?
The fitment factor is a figure multiplied with your basic salary to give you the new basic pay. Take an example, say your basic salary is ₹30,000 and your fitment factor is 2.0, then your new basic salary would be ₹60,000. This however does not imply that you get your full salary doubled- the other allowances such as the Dearness Allowance (DA), House Rent allowance (HRA) and Transport allowance are re-computed separately.
What Happened in the Past?
The fitment factor in the 7 th Pay Commission was 2.57. This raised the minimum basic pay to ₹18,000 as compared to ₹7000. Nevertheless, the real increase in salary was only approximately 14.3 % since DA was adjusted to a nil level and other incentives altered.
What?s Expected in the 8th Pay Commission?
The fitment factor may be between 1.8 and 2.46 estimated by experts now. In case it is 1.8, the wage increase could be about 13 %. Provided its 2.46, the increase may as much as rise by 34%. That is, although the basic salary may be raised to a large extent, the overall rise in salary would be determined by the extent of recalculated other allowances.
When Will It Happen?
The 8 th Pay Commission is supposed to be implemented on January 1, 2026 but since there have been delays in the constituting of the commission and the release of formal notifications, implementation may be delayed into 2027. The government continues to consult major ministries and departments in order to hammer out the details3.
Employees Expect
One should realize that fitment factor is applied to the basic salary only. Other factors will be added to the final salary and the increment might not be huge as some would hope. Nevertheless, an increase however small will be a respite to more than 1 crore of central government employees and pensioners.
Also Read /8th Pay Commission Announced: Over 1 Crore Govt Employees and Pensioners Await Salary Boost