Revised Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA) and Minimum Wages wef 01.10.2026 for employees employed in Construction or Maintenance of Roads etc: Labour Bureau Order dated 30.09.2026
F.No.6/1/2026-VDA
Government of India
Ministry of Labour & Employment
Labour Bureau
Chandigarh
Dated:30 September 2026
ORDER
In exercise of the powers conferred by Central Government vide Notification No. S.O. 2451(E) dated 12th May, 2026 of the Ministry of Labour and Employment the undersigned hereby revises the rates of Variable Dearness Allowance w.e.f. 01.10.2026 on the basis of the average Consumer Price Index for Industrial workers reaching 431.42 from 424.80 as on 30.06.2026 (linked to Base 2016=100) and thereby resulting in an increase of 6.62 points. The revised Variable Dearness Allowance as under shall be payable from 01.10.2026.
The rates of Variable Dearness Allowance for employees employed in Construction Or Maintenance Of Roads Or Runways Or In Building Operations Including Laying Down Underground Electric, Wireless, Radio, Television, Telephone, Telegraph And Overseas Communication Cables And Similar Other Underground Cabling Work, Electric Lines, Water Supply Lines And Sewerage Pipe Lines.
| Category of Worker | Rates of V.D.A. Area wise per day (in Rupees) | ||
| A | B | C | |
| Unskilled | 317 | 267 | 215 |
| Semi-Skilled/Unskilled Supervisory | 354 | 300 | 251 |
| Skilled/Clerical | 387 | 354 | 300 |
| Highly Skilled | 418 | 387 | 354 |
Therefore the minimum rates of wages showing the basic rates and Variable Dearness Allowance payable w.e.f. 01.10.2026 will be as under :-
| Category of Worker | Rates of wages including V.D.A. per day (in Rupees) | ||
| A Area | B Area | C Area | |
| Unskilled | 523+317=840 | 437+267=704 | 350+206=556 |
| Semi-Skilled/Unskilled Supervisory | 579+354=933 | 494+300=794 | 410+240=650 |
| Skilled/Clerical | 637+387=1024 | 579+354=933 | 494+287=781 |
| Highly Skilled | 693+418=1111 | 637+387=1024 | 579+354=933 |
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 Notification No. S.O. 188(E) dated 19th January, 2017 of the Ministry of Labour and Employement, 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).
(Shyam Singh Negi)
Director General
Labour Bureau
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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