India, Oct. 29 -- Setting in motion the process for hiking salaries and pensions of nearly 1.2 crore central government employees, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the terms of reference (ToR) for the 8th Pay Commission, setting a deadline for the panel to make recommendations.

The Eighth Pay Commission, as told in the Union Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, will be headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai and will also include two other members.

-Who are part of the Commission: Apart from former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, IIM (Bangalore) Professor Pulak Ghosh will be in the Commission as a part-time member along with Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain as the member secretary

-18-month deadline: The pane...