The drafting committee of the National Council of Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) has submitted a common memorandum of its demands to the 8th Pay Commission. The committee’s main demand is that the minimum basic pay—which is currently fixed at ₹18,000 under the 7th Pay Commission—should be increased to ₹69,000. This would be an increase of approximately 3.83 times; Therefore, the Committee has demanded a ‘fitment factor’ of 3.833. Fitment factor acts as a multiplier which is used to decide the amount of revised pay and pension. At first glance, this seems like a huge hike, as it proposes to almost quadruple the basic salary.
Justifying its demands, the drafting committee has made two main points. First of all, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), any person doing physically demanding work requires approximately 3,490 kilocalories of energy every month. On this basis, monthly food and beverage expenses for a family of five have been calculated to ensure that the basic needs of a typical family are adequately met. Secondly, while the 7th Pay Commission had taken a family of three members as its baseline, the proposal of the 8th Pay Commission has increased this base to a family of five members, making it possible to estimate the total expenditure more accurately.
Minimum monthly expenses figures
The NC-JCM has submitted to the Committee a detailed account of the estimated minimum monthly expenditure for January 2026, based on 2025 average price levels. This list calculates the total monthly expenses of a family of five, taking into account the expenses incurred on various essential items. Initially, expenditure on food items—such as rice, pulses, vegetables, fruits, milk, cooking oil, meat and eggs—comes to about ₹24,443; When the cost of other small food items is also added to this, this figure increases to approximately ₹ 26,887. After this, when the expenses on clothes, apparel and tailoring services are also added, the total estimated monthly expenditure reaches to about ₹ 32,577.
Additionally, when housing expenses—especially house rent—are added at the rate of 7.5%, the figure rises to about ₹35,020. Then, when utility charges—that is, electricity, water and fuel—are included at the rate of about 20%, the total expense exceeds ₹42,000. Finally, when expenses related to skill development, social obligations (like weddings and festivals), entertainment and technology are also added, the total monthly expenditure of a family reaches approximately ₹68,947. If the government adopts this standard, there is a possibility of the salary increasing to the level of ₹69,000.
