MGNREGA wages get a 3-10% hike, average pay to go up by ₹28/day

New Delhi, The Centre has notified a 3-10 per cent increase in the wage rates for workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) for the financial year 2024-25. The new wage rates will come into effect from April 1.

The average MGNREGA wage nationwide for 2024-25 will be Rs 289 up from Rs 261 for 2023-24 which is an increase of Rs 28 per day.

The increase in wage rate varies from 3 per cent for Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to 10.56 per cent for Goa and 10.4 per cent for Karnataka. In the case of Andhra Pradesh, the increase is 10.29 per cent, Telangana (10.29 per cent) and Chattisgarh (9.95 per cent).

Currently, MGNREGA wages are linked to changes in the rural inflation rate as measured by Consumer Price Index- Agriculture Labour.

The Rural Development Ministry had recently obtained the Election Commission's permission to notify the revised wage rates as the model code of conduct has come into force for the Lok Sabha elections.

Workers in Haryana will get the highest wage of Rs 374 per day. The lowest has been fixed for Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland at Rs 234 per day.

The Centre has allocated Rs 86,000 crore for MGNREGA in the Union budget for 2024-25.