Minimum Wages and Revised VDA for Watch and Ward Duties with and without Arms w.e.f 1st April 2026 – Labour Commissioner(C) order dated 30.03.2026
File No.1/6(6)/2025- LS- II
Government of India
Ministry of Labour & Employment
Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner(C)
New Delhi
Dated:30/03/2026
ORDER
In exercise of the powers conferred by Central Government vide Notification No. S.O. 191(E) dated 19th January, 2017 of the Ministry of Labour and Employment the undersigned hereby revises the rates of Variable Dearness Allowance on the basis of the average Consumer Price Index for Industrial workers reaching 424.80 from 413.52 as on 31.12.2025 (Base 2016=100) and thereby resulting in an increase of 11.28 points. The revised Variable Dearness Allowance as under shall be payable from 01.04.2026:-
I. The rates of Variable Dearness Allowance for employees employed in WATCH & WARD (without arms) shall be as under:-
| AREA | RATES OF V.D.A. PER DAY (in Rs.) |
| A | 371 |
| B | 339 |
| C | 287 |
Therefore, the minimum rates of wages showing the basic rates and Variable Dearness Allowance payable w.e.f 01.04.2026 to employees employed in WATCH AND WARD (without arms) shall be as under:-
| AREA | RATES OF WAGES PLUS V.D.A PER DAY | ||
| Basic Wages (Rs.) | V.D.A. (Rs.) | Total (Rs.) | |
| A | 637 | + 371 | = 1008 |
| B | 579 | + 339 | = 918 |
| C | 494 | + 287 | = 781 |
II. The rates of Variable Dearness Allowance for employees employed in WATCH AND WARD (with arms) shall be as under:-
| AREA | RATES OF VDA PER DAY (in Rs.) |
| A | 401 |
| B | 371 |
| C | 339 |
Therefore, the minimum rates of wages showing the basic rates and Variable Dearness Allowance payable w.e.f. 01.04.2026 to employees employed in WATCH AND WARD (with arms) shall be as under:-
| AREA | RATES OF WAGES PLUS VDA PER DAY | ||
| Basic Wages (Rs.) | VDA. (Rs.) | Total (Rs.) | |
| A | 693 | + 401 | = 1094 |
| B | 637 | + 371 | = 1008 |
| C | 579 | + 339 | = 918 |
The VDA has been rounded off to the next higher rupee as per the decision of the Minimum Wages Advisory Board.
The classification of workers under different categories will be same as in Part- I of the notification, whereas classification of cities will be same as in the Part- II of the notification dated 19th January, 2017. The present classification of cities into areas A, B & C is enclosed at Annexure I for ready reference.
The instant notification is being issued in pursuance of sub- section (2) of Section 69 of the Code on Wages, 2019 (29 of 2019) and shall remain in force till the corresponding order is issued in pursuance of sub- section (2) of section 7 of the said Code.
(Sonal Mishra)
Chief Labour Commissioner(C)
ANNEXURE
CLASSIFICATION OF AREAS
| AREA – “A” | |||||
| Ahmedabad | (UA) | Hyderabad | (UA) | Faridabad complex | (M.Corpn) |
| Bangaluru | (UA) | Kanpur | (UA) | Ghaziabad | (UA) |
| Delhi | (UA) | Chennai | (UA) | Noida | |
| Greater Mumbai | (UA) | Nagpur | (UA) | Secunderabad | |
| Kolkata | (UA) | Lucknow | (UA) | Gurgaon | (M. Corpn) |
| Navi Mumbai | (UA) | Pune | (UA) | ||
| AREA – “B” | |||||
| Agra | (UA) | Gwalior | (UA) | Port Blair | (UA) |
| Ajmer | (UA) | Hubli-Dharwad | (M. Corpn) | Puducherry | (UA) |
| Aligarh | (UA) | Indore | (UA) | Raipur | (UA) |
| Allahabad | (UA) | Jabalpur | (UA) | Raurkela | (UA) |
| Amravati | (M.Corpn) | Jaipur | (M.Corpn) | Rajkot | (UA) |
| Amritsar | (UA) | Jalandhar | (UA) | Ranchi | (UA) |
| Asansol | (UA) | Jalandhar-Cantt. | (UA) | Saharanpur | (M.Corpn) |
| Aurangabad | (UA) | Jammu | (UA) | Salem | (UA) |
| Bareilly | (UA) | Jamnagar | (UA) | Sangli | (UA) |
| Belgaum | (UA) | Jamshedpur | (UA) | Shillong | |
| Bhavnagar | (UA) | Jhansi | (UA) | Siliguri | (UA) |
| Bhiwandi | (UA) | Jodhpur | (UA) | Solapur | (M.Corpn) |
| Bhopal | (UA) | Kannur | (UA) | Srinagar | (UA) |
| Bhubaneshwar | (UA) | Kochi | (UA) | Surat | (UA) |
| Bikaner | Kolhapur | (UA) | Thiruvanantapuram | (UA) | |
| Bokaro Steel City | (UA) | Kollam | (UA) | Thrissur | (UA) |
| Chandigarh | (UA) | Kota | (M.Corpn) | Tiruchirappalli | (UA) |
| Coimbatore | (UA) | Kozhikode | (UA) | Tiruppur | (UA) |
| Cuttack | (UA) | Ludhiana | (M.Corpn) | Ujjain | (M.Corpn) |
| Dehradun | (UA) | Madurai | (UA) | Vadodara | (UA) |
| Dhanbad | (UA) | Malappuram | (UA) | Varanasi | (UA) |
| Durgapur | Malegaon | (UA) | Vasai- Virar City | (M.Corpn) | |
| Durg-Bhilai Nagar | (UA) | Mangalore | (UA) | Vijayawada | (UA) |
| Erode | (UA) | Meerut | (UA) | Vishakhapatnam | (M.Corpn) |
| Firozabad | Moradabad | (M. Corpn) | Warangal | (UA) | |
| Goa | Mysore | (UA) | |||
| Gorakhpur | (UA) | Nanded Waghala | (M. Corpn) | ||
| Greater Visakhapatnam | (M.Corpn) | Nasik | (UA) | ||
| Gulbarga | (UA) | Nellore | (UA) | ||
| Guntur | (UA) | Panchkula | (UA) | ||
| Guwahati | (UA) | Patna | (UA) | ||
Note 1. Area ‘C’ shall comprise all areas not mentioned in this list but to which the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (11 of 1948) extends.
Note 2.-U.A. means Urban Agglomeration.
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