Overview
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to respond on Dec. 1 to questions on the commission’s Terms of Reference and on merging dearness allowance with basic pay.
- Employee federations allege the ToR omits explicit coverage for pre-effective-date retirees, claiming roughly 69 lakh pensioners could be left out.
- The notification does not specify when new pay scales would take effect, unsettling staff who expected implementation from Jan. 1, 2026.
- The Confederation has called workplace demonstrations for Dec. 16 and is pressing for a 50% DA–basic pay merger and 20% interim relief for employees and pensioners.
- MPs have submitted queries and unions seek ToR revisions and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme, while the commission led by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai has 18 months to submit its report.