Budget 2025: Government employees and pensioners have high expectations from the budget, will the Finance Minister fulfill their demands?

As Budget 2025 is getting closer, government employees and pensioners are expecting the announcement of the 8th Pay Commission from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. After the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission, employees (Central government employees) and pensioners are eagerly waiting for improvement in their salary and pension.

Every year before the budget, the Finance Ministry takes suggestions from different sectors and unions. This year also, trade union representatives met the Finance Minister and demanded immediate implementation of the 8th Pay Commission. Swadesh Dev Roy, National Secretary of the Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said that it has been 9 years since the 7th Pay Commission was implemented and now there is a need to implement the new Pay Commission. 8th Pay Commission may be implemented in 2026

It is believed that the recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission will be implemented from 2026, as the term of the 7th Pay Commission ends in December 2025. The recommendations of the last few commissions have been implemented at an interval of 10 years. Looking at this pattern, employees and pensioners are hoping that the process of the new pay commission will start soon.

Demand to restore old pension scheme

Trade unions also put forward several other demands for Budget 2025-26, including increasing the EPFO ​​​​pension to ₹ 5,000 per month, restoring the old pension scheme, and increasing the income tax exemption limit to Rs 10 lakh. Pawan Kumar, Organizing Secretary of the Northern Zone of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), demanded to link the EPS-95 pension with VDA (Variable Dearness Allowance) and make pension income tax-free.

Apart from this, the unions have also raised the demand for social security schemes for gig workers, fixing minimum wages for agricultural laborers and stopping the privatization of government institutions.

Will the expectations of government employees and pensioners be fulfilled?

The 7th Pay Commission came in February 2014 during the UPA government and its recommendations were implemented in January 2016. Given this, the trade unions have requested the government to start the process of the new commission on time so that it can be implemented by 2026. Now it remains to be seen what stand the Finance Minister takes on these demands in the upcoming budget and whether Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will fulfill the expectations of government employees and pensioners.

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