New Delhi, May 2 -- Constituted by the Centre every 10 years to revise the allowances, pay and pensions of its employees, the Central Pay Commission (CPC) is responsible for decisions on contributions, retirement benefits and government spending. The 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) is thus also set to make big decisions on salary hikes, dearness allowance, fitment factor and other allowances for central government employees.

Constituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the commission was announced in January last year, and its Terms of Reference (ToR) were issued in November. Since then, there has been much speculation over implementation of the salary hikes, arrears, amendments and proposed changes to pension structures.

As many as 50...