New Delhi: There is good news for lakhs of laborers before the festival. The Central Government has increased the Dearness Allowance (Variable DA). Workers engaged in farming, construction, maintenance, road and building construction work will benefit from this. The increased allowance has come into effect from 1 October 2026. Due to increase in dearness allowance, the daily minimum wage of different categories of workers has also increased. The government has decided to increase the wages according to skill and place of work i.e. Area A, B and C.
How much will agricultural laborers get?
Unskilled laborers in Area A in the agriculture sector will now get at least Rs 537 per day. This includes basic salary of Rs 333 and dearness allowance of Rs 204. The minimum wage of highly skilled laborers in this sector has been increased to Rs 705 per day. Unskilled farm laborers in Area B will get Rs 491 and those in Area C will get Rs 486 per day. This amount will be more depending on the skill.
Big increase in construction sector
Wages have also been increased in the construction and maintenance sector. This includes works like roads, runways, buildings, electricity, underground cables, water pipelines and sewer lines. Unskilled construction workers in Area A will now get Rs 840 per day, while highly skilled workers will be given Rs 1,111 per day. In Area B the same wage will be Rs 704 for unskilled and Rs 1,024 for highly skilled. In Area C, unskilled laborers will get Rs 565 and highly skilled laborers will get Rs 933 per day. The salary of semi-skilled and skilled laborers has also been increased in the same proportion.
Why did dearness allowance increase?
Dearness allowance is that part which is given to provide relief to the workers from rising inflation. The government decides it on the basis of Consumer Price Index of Industrial Workers (CPI-IW). This time the index has increased from 424.80 to 431.42. Only after this increase of 6.62 points has the new Variable DA been implemented. This decision will directly benefit lakhs of workers in the unorganized sector and the burden of inflation on their pockets will be less during the festive season.