The Tripura government has initiated the process for constituting the 8th Pay Commission, Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy informed the Assembly on Thursday, on the first day of the Monsoon session.
He said the appointment of the Commission's Chairman and members is currently underway, and the government expects the panel to submit recommendations to resolve issues related to pay revision.
Replying to a discussion in the Assembly raised by opposition Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman, the Finance Minister traced the history of pay revisions for state government employees. He said that after Tripura attained full statehood in 1972, the government adopted the Tripura Government Employees (Revised Pay) Rules, 1975, following the recommendations of the First Pay Commission.
He further informed the House that the government subsequently constituted the Second Pay Commission in 1985, based on whose recommendations the Tripura State Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 1988 came into effect from January 1, 1986. Similarly, the Fourth Pay Commission, constituted in 1996, led to the implementation of the Tripura State Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 1999, effective from January 1, 1996.
The Finance Minister said a Pay Revision Committee was formed in 2008, and based on its recommendations, the Tripura State Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2009 were implemented with effect from January 1, 2006. Later, the government constituted the 7th Pay Revision Committee in 2017, following whose recommendations the Tripura State Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2018 came into force with effect from April 1, 2018.
He noted that implementation of the 2018 revised pay structure increased the fitment factor from 2.25 to 2.57, resulting in a substantial rise in the basic pay and pensions of state government employees and pensioners, while also placing an additional financial burden on the state exchequer.
Referring to recent developments at the national level, Singha Roy said the Central government announced the constitution of the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) on January 16, 2025. He added that Tripura has now begun the process of setting up its own 8th Pay Commission, making it one of the few states in the country to take such a step.