Minimum Wages in India 2026: Every State and UT Compared

How to read the rates

A minimum wage in India is set for a scheduled employment (shops, factories, construction, security and so on), a skill level (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, highly skilled) and, in many states, a zone that reflects living costs in big cities, towns and rural areas. The unskilled rate is the floor for each state, so it is the figure compared above. The highest unskilled rate on record is in Karnataka (₹23,376.43 a month).

The Code on Wages, 2019 now governs minimum wages across the country. It asks the central government to fix a national floor wage that no state may go below; until that is notified, the old advisory national floor level minimum wage of ₹176 a day (advisory, 2017) remains the reference figure. Each state page linked in the table gives the full grid of skill levels and zones, the categories of work covered and a calculator.

How VDA works

Most states split the minimum wage into a basic rate, fixed for several years, and a variable dearness allowance that follows the Consumer Price Index for industrial workers. When the index rises, the state announces a new VDA, usually from 1 April and 1 October (Maharashtra and West Bengal use January and July; Karnataka and Tamil Nadu revise once a year). The new total applies from that date even if the order is published weeks later, so employers owe the difference as arrears for the months already paid.

For example, Madhya Pradesh's VDA is ₹3,000 a month a month on top of the basic rate for its scheduled employments from 1 October 2026. Some states publish only combined totals rather than basic and VDA separately, and a few north-eastern states and UTs revise their rates only occasionally. The status column above flags states where a revision date has passed without a new order, so you know to watch for arrears.

Central sphere rates

Employers under the central government's authority — railways, mines, oil fields, major ports, banks, central public sector undertakings and their contractors — follow central minimum wages fixed by the Chief Labour Commissioner instead of the state rate. These are daily rates by area (A for large cities, B and C for smaller towns), revised for VDA from 1 April and 1 October.

Order: Labour Bureau, Chandigarh (MoLE) — VDA orders File No. 6/1/2026-VDA dated 30.09.2026, w.e.f. 01.10.2026, under S.O. 2451(E) dt 12.05.2026 and s.69(2) Code on Wages (published on clc.gov.in) · last checked 14 October 2026 · Full central minimum wages guide

State and UT guides

• Minimum wages in Andhra Pradesh
• Minimum wages in Arunachal Pradesh
• Minimum wages in Assam
• Minimum wages in Bihar
• Minimum wages in Chandigarh
• Minimum wages in Chhattisgarh
• Minimum wages in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
• Minimum wages in Delhi
• Minimum wages in Goa
• Minimum wages in Gujarat
• Minimum wages in Haryana
• Minimum wages in Himachal Pradesh
• Minimum wages in Jammu & Kashmir
• Minimum wages in Jharkhand
• Minimum wages in Karnataka
• Minimum wages in Kerala
• Minimum wages in Ladakh
• Minimum wages in Madhya Pradesh
• Minimum wages in Maharashtra
• Minimum wages in Manipur
• Minimum wages in Meghalaya
• Minimum wages in Mizoram
• Minimum wages in Nagaland
• Minimum wages in Odisha
• Minimum wages in Puducherry
• Minimum wages in Punjab
• Minimum wages in Rajasthan
• Minimum wages in Sikkim
• Minimum wages in Tamil Nadu
• Minimum wages in Telangana
• Minimum wages in Tripura
• Minimum wages in Uttar Pradesh
• Minimum wages in Uttarakhand
• Minimum wages in West Bengal
• Code on Wages, 2019