India Increases Rural Employment Wages Under New Viksit Bharat Mission

As the new rural employment framework Viksit Bharat- Guarantee for Rozgar & Ajeevika Mission ( Gramin) comes into force today, the govt has announced an increase in wages with notified wages across states from now on to be not less than Rs 300.

The national average notified wage has increased from Rs 298.8 per day under MGNREGA to Rs 327.4 per day under VB–G RAM G, representing an average increase of Rs 28.6 per day.

The average percentage increase across the country exceeds 10%.

In case of states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh the increase increase is in the range of 15% to 25% over the existing wage rate.

In case of Kerala, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka to have wage rates of over Rs 360 up to Rs 409.

According to the ministry of rural development 21 states and UTs have been brought up to the new Rs 300 interim base wage rate.

"Along with expanding the employment guarantee to 125 days, we have ensured better wages for rural workers. The largest increase has been provided to States where wages were historically lower, so that those who need the greatest support benefit the most. This historic wage revision will strengthen rural livelihoods, increase purchasing power and accelerate inclusive development across rural India," rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

Prior to this notification, wage rates in several states were below Rs 300, with the lowest notified wage being Rs 241 per day.

"Under the revised notification, every such state has been brought up to the new benchmark, significantly improving income security for rural workers while narrowing long-standing regional wage disparities," the ministry said on its statement.

Workers in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland receive the highest percentage increase of nearly 24.5%, while substantial increases have also been notified for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Tripura, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and several other States.

States that already had wage rates above the interim base wage have also received revisions based on the prescribed methodology.

Following the notification, Haryana (Rs 409), Goa (Rs 406), Kerala (Rs 401) and Sikkim (High Altitude Gram Panchayats) (Rs 450) now have notified wage rates exceeding Rs 400 per day, compared to only one wage region under the previous wage structure.

"The notification combines annual indexation with the newly introduced interim base wage rate to ensure fair wages while reducing historical disparities in rural wage rates," the ministry said.