Of the 20 states and Union territories assessed, only 10 pay above the national average
Male agricultural workers in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat get only Rs 217.8 and Rs 220.3, respectively. Photo: Vikas Choudhary / CSE Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Tripura pay the lowest daily wage to labourers at a time of high retail and food inflation in India, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) November 19, 2022.
The daily wages in these states are below even the national average in all categories of workers, including those in the construction, agriculture, horticulture and non-agricultural sectors, according to the central bank.
Male agricultural workers in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat get only Rs 217.8 and Rs 220.3 per day, respectively. These states are followed by Odisha, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar.
Also read: One agricultural labourer died by suicide every two hours in 2021
Kerala pays the highest — Rs 726.8. It is followed by Jammu and Kashmir at Rs 524.6, Himachal Pradesh at Rs 457.6 and Tamil Nadu at Rs 445.6. The latest data pertains to 2021-22.
The national average for agricultural daily wage rate was Rs 323.32. Of the 20 states and Union territories assessed, only 10 pay above the national average. They are Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
The trend is similar for wages of construction workers. Workers in Tripura, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat get a meagre Rs 250, Rs 266.7 and Rs 295.9 as daily wages. But, their counterparts in Kerala get Rs 837.7. Other states that pay high are Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu.
The data signified that rural wage growth has failed to keep pace with the high inflationary trends. Retail inflation ruled at 6.77 per cent. Although it fell below seven per cent in October, it was still well above the upper limit of the RBI’s tolerance band of two-six per cent.
Also read: Providing the poorest landless agricultural labourers with farm tools can ameliorate their lot
Moreover, prices of cereals and products continued to rise in October 2022 despite the government imposing restrictions on exports of wheat and rice.
Cereal inflation touched a nine-year high of 12.08 per cent in October 2022, rising from 11.53 per cent in September 2022.
Meanwhile, the RBI data also showed that non-agricultural labourers too get the highest wages in Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu and the lowest in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Tripura.
However, there is a slight increase in the wage rate in Gujarat in 2021-22 compared to 2020-21. But it has declined in Madhya Pradesh and remained the same in Tripura.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.