Govt hikes NREGA wage rate for FY24

The government has increased wages under its flagship NREGA scheme for the financial year 2023-24. The monthly hike in wages is in the range of Rs 7 to Rs 26, and 2 to 10 percentage points across states, and would come into effect from April 1, 2023.

State-wise NREGA wage list 2023

With effect from April 1, 2023

Source: Ministry of Rural Development

In the revised wage list, NREGA workers in Haryana would get the highest daily wage at Rs 357 while those in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will get the lowest daily wage at Rs 221.

Rajasthan saw the highest percentage increase in wages from last year where the revised wage is Rs 255 per day for FY24 as against Rs 231 in FY23. On the other hand, Karnataka, Goa, Meghalaya and Manipur are among the states to register the lowest percentage increase in NREGA wages.

Bihar and Jharkhand have registered a percentage increase of around eight from last year. Last year, the daily wage for a MNREGA worker in these two states was Rs 210. It has now been revised to Rs 228.

Under Section 6 (1) of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA), 2005, the Centre can notify wage rate for unskilled work for its beneficiaries. To compensate NREGA workers against inflation, the ministry revises the wage rate every financial year based on change in Consumer Price Index for agricultural labourers (CPI-AL).  If the calculated wage rate of any state is lower than the wage rate of the previous financial year, it is protected by maintaining the previous financial year’s wage rate.  The revised wage rate is made applicable from April 1 of each financial year. State governments can provide wages over and above the wage rate notified by the Centre.