MNREGA wages to be linked to CPIAL

• Over five-crore workers under the scheme of under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act workers across the country will enjoy a 17 to 30 per cent rise in wages with their wage rate being linked with the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labour (CPIAL) with immediate effect.
• The lowest minimum wage under the MNREGA will be in Meghalaya, at Rs.117, while the highest will be in the Nicobar district of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, at Rs. 181.
• The Congress-ruled States of Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have hiked the statutory minimum wages under the Minimum Wages Act but clarified that this was not applicable to MNREGA workers. These States had asked for linking MNREGA wages with the prevailing statutory wages.