Assam Sets Up 8th Pay Commission with Focus on Fiscal Prudence and Administrative Reforms

Guwahati: It is a good news for the state government employees in the state as the Assam government has formally constituted the 8th Assam Pay Commission, 2026, initiating a comprehensive review of the pay structure and service conditions of State government employees nearly a decade after the last revision implemented in April 2016.

The newly formed Commission has been given a reform-oriented mandate that goes beyond a conventional pay revision exercise.

The State Government has made it clear that any revision in salaries and allowances must be aligned with fiscal sustainability, administrative efficiency, manpower rationalisation and digital transformation. The exercise is expected to integrate compensation reforms with structural changes in human resource management and governance systems.

The Commission will be chaired by Subhash Chandra Das, IAS (Retd.), and includes senior-most secretaries from the Personnel, ARTPPG and Finance Departments, along with the LR-cum-Commissioner and Special Secretary of the Judicial Department and the Special Director (Budget), Finance Department. Prof. Ratul Mahanta of Gauhati University will serve as Special Invitee.

According to the Terms of Reference, the Commission will examine the principles governing the structure of emoluments and service conditions of State Government employees, excluding officers of the All India Services, employees drawing UGC/AICTE or technical pay scales in specified higher and technical institutions, and Judicial Service officers governed by separate national recommendations.

A key emphasis of the Commission’s mandate is fiscal responsibility. The recommendations are required to remain consistent with the provisions of the Assam Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2005. The Commission has been asked to undertake detailed fiscal impact modelling, assess revenue resources and debt sustainability, and suggest phased or staggered implementation options if necessary.

In a significant shift from earlier pay commissions, the 8th Pay Commission will also review cadre structures and organisational arrangements to recommend rationalisation of workload, zero-based manpower assessment, abolition of redundant posts and restructuring in light of technology adoption and e-governance initiatives. It will examine the scope for digital manpower audits and establishment control mechanisms to optimise human resource deployment.

The Commission has further been tasked with reviewing allowances, medical facilities, travel entitlements, hardship allowances, retirement age and death-cum-retirement benefits. It will also examine the pension and dearness relief framework for pensioners in relation to movements in the Consumer Price Index, ensuring that any recommendations remain fiscally sustainable.

Another notable feature of the mandate is the proposal for a modern compensation architecture designed to attract and retain talent, promote accountability and integrity, and support competency-based human resource development. The Commission will suggest principles for performance-linked incentives based on measurable departmental Key Performance Indicators, to be monitored through digital dashboards and verifiable metrics, without creating automatic entitlement.

The Government has also asked the Commission to review existing Human Resource Management Systems and recommend complete digitisation of service records and payroll, integration with treasury and financial management systems, real-time tracking of promotions and pensions, and the introduction of digital performance monitoring mechanisms.

Additionally, the Commission will advise on remuneration principles for contractual employees, scheme-based personnel and staff of societies and externally aided projects, while ensuring that no automatic parity is created with regular government cadres unless specifically notified.

The Commission may devise its own procedures and appoint advisors or experts as necessary. All departments under the State Government have been directed to extend full cooperation.

With the constitution of the 8th Assam Pay Commission, the State Government has signalled its intent to link pay revision with broader governance reforms, aiming to build a fiscally responsible, technology-enabled and performance-driven administrative framework in Assam.

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