Telangana raises minimum wages June 1

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said on May 21 that the state will revise minimum wages from June 1, in a move the government said will cover about 1.11 crore workers across the state. Speaking at the Secretariat in Hyderabad with Labour Minister G. Vivek Venkatswamy, Reddy said workers would be grouped into four skill categories and the state into three wage zones. The new structure raises the minimum wage for unskilled workers in Zone 1 to ₹16,000 from ₹12,750, according to state announcements and local media reports. The revision is the first broad minimum-wage overhaul in Telangana in more than a decade, Deccan Chronicle reported. ### Which workers are covered, and how is Telangana dividing them? Telangana said the revision applies across 81 scheduled employments, spanning sectors such as manufacturing, construction and services, according to reports citing the government’s announcement. The state has classified workers as unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled. It has also split wage-setting into three zones: municipal corporations in Zone 1, municipalities in Zone 2 and rural areas in Zone 3. (thehindu.com) A Cabinet sub-committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka made the recommendations behind the revision, Reddy said. The chief minister told reporters the government had taken the decision after consultations and after considering inflation, essential commodity prices, rents and other living costs, according to The New Indian Express. (thehindu.com) ### What exactly changes in the wage table from June 1? The revised wage table announced on May 21 sets Zone 1 minimum pay for unskilled workers at ₹16,000, up from ₹12,750. Semi-skilled workers will receive ₹17,000, up from ₹13,152; skilled workers ₹18,500, up from ₹13,772; and highly skilled workers ₹20,000, up from ₹14,607, according to The Hindu and PTI. (theweek.in) The Hindu published the full comparison table and said the revised wages take effect on June 1, 2026. PTI’s account, carried by The Week, reported the same figures and quoted Reddy as saying 1.11 crore workers would benefit from the decision. ### Why is the government presenting this as a major shift? Revanth Reddy described the revision as a major workers’ welfare decision and said it was the first such step since Telangana’s formation, according to The Hindu, PTI and The Hans India. (thehindu.com) He also used the announcement to attack the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi government, saying it had failed to revise wages during its time in office. Deccan Chronicle reported that the government framed the move as the first comprehensive revision in more than 12 years. That characterization aligns with the state’s emphasis on the scale of the change and the number of workers it says will be covered. ### Does this apply only to government workers? (thehindu.com) The 1.11 crore figure and the reference to scheduled employments indicate the revision is aimed at the broader labor market, not only state employees. Minimum wages in India are generally notified by category and employment type, and Telangana’s announcement ties the change to scheduled employments across sectors rather than to a government payroll list. (deccanchronicle.com) The zone structure also points to statewide application by location and occupation. Zone 1 covers municipal corporations, Zone 2 municipalities and Zone 3 rural areas, meaning the wage floor will vary by geography as well as by skill category. ### What happens next, and what should workers and employers watch for? (thehindu.com) June 1, 2026 is the effective date cited by Reddy, PTI and The Hindu for the revised wage structure. Workers and employers will need the detailed notification for each scheduled employment and zone to see the applicable floor from that date. (thehindu.com) Labour Minister G. Vivek Venkatswamy appeared with Reddy at the May 21 press conference in Hyderabad, where the government laid out the four worker categories and three-zone framework. The next concrete step is implementation from June 1 under that structure. (thehindu.com)