8th Pay Commission: Employee organizations have raised the issue of the payment of 18 months' worth of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) arrears—withheld during the COVID-19 pandemic—before the 8th Pay Commission. However, the government's stance on this matter is clear.
DA/DR Arrears: The 8th Pay Commission is now fully active regarding the interests of lakhs of central government employees and pensioners. Meetings are being held across various states, and suggestions from different employee organizations are being gathered and deliberated upon. Employee organizations are openly presenting their demands to the Pay Commission. In this context, they have also demanded the release of the 18 months' DA and DR arrears that were withheld during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notably, during the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had frozen the payment of three DA installments:
1 January 2020 to 30 June 2020
1 July 2020 to 31 September 2020
1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021
By freezing DA during this 18-month period, the government saved ₹34,402.32 crore. These funds were utilized for various welfare schemes. Employee unions and organizations have been persistently demanding the release of these arrears, a request the government has already rejected.
What Is the Government's Stance?
The Ministry of Finance has already clarified that central government employees and pensioners will not be paid the DA/DR arrears for the 18-month COVID-19 period. The government has already stated in Parliament that it was under financial strain during the pandemic, which is why the DA/DR payments for those three installments were withheld. Currently, there is no proposal under consideration to release the arrears for that period. The Ministry of Finance maintains that, given the current budgetary constraints, paying the Dearness Allowance arrears for those 18 months is not feasible.
When will the 8th Pay Commission be implemented?
The government constituted the 8th Pay Commission in November 2025. The Commission has been granted an 18-month timeframe to prepare its report. Accordingly, it is expected to submit the report to the government by May 2027. Once received, the report will undergo a review process. Subsequently, following Cabinet approval, it could be fully implemented by mid-to-late 2027.
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