Eighth Central Pay Commission: Profile of Pankaj Jain, Member Secretary

8th Central Pay Commission Sets Course for Recommendations on Allowances and Pay Hikes

The 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) has initiated discussions ahead of its recommendations on allowances, pay hikes, and salary structure for central government employees and pensioners, including those in the railways and defence sectors. As part of its update to the compensation of these groups, the panel is expected to make significant decisions this year.

Constituted every 10 years by the Centre, the 8th CPC was announced last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The panel has planned a series of meetings with employee representatives in various locations across the country. In April and May, the panel held meetings in Delhi, and it has scheduled further meetings in Telangana, Ladakh, and Jammu & Kashmir in May and June. The first visit will take place from May 18-19 in Hyderabad, Telangana, followed by a visit to Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir from June 1-4, and then to Ladakh on June 8. The panel has also announced that it will hold separate meetings in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and other cities and states over the next few months.

Meetings with Employee Representatives

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The 8th CPC has planned a total of four meetings with employee representatives in different locations. The schedule for these meetings is as follows:

8th CPC Member-Secretary Pankaj Jain

Pankaj Jain, a member of the Indian Administrative Service (Assam-Meghalaya Cadre), is the Member-Secretary of the 8th CPC. With over 35 years of experience in public administration, Jain has held various senior positions in the state government and Centre. He has also served on the boards of several banks, energy sector entities, financial institutions, insurance companies, and regulatory and supervisory institutions.

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Jain has a strong academic background, with a Post-Graduate degree in Management, a professional qualification in Cost Accountancy, and a graduate degree in Commerce. He has also been a member of the Reserve Bank of India's Expert Committee on Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

8th CPC Members

The current panel is the eighth such committee constituted by the Centre since Independence. It is chaired by Former Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and includes Professor Pulak Ghosh, a tenured Professor of Finance, as a Member of the Commission. Pankaj Jain serves as the Member-Secretary of the panel.

Decision-Making Process

The 8th CPC gathers views and inputs from labour representatives and groups, ministries, pension bodies, employee unions, and other similar stakeholders to reach its consensus. The collected data is then analysed to decide allowances, pension formula, and salary structures for the relevant employee and retiree groups.

The panel has extended the deadline for stakeholders to submit their memorandum of suggestions ahead of the panel's recommendations. The new deadline is May 31, 2026, a month's extension from the earlier deadline of April 30, 2026. The process for submitting suggestions began on March 5, 2026.