The latest minimum wage order on the Delhi Labour Department's website is dated 15 April 2025, effective 1 April 2025: ₹18,456 a month (₹710 a day) for unskilled, ₹20,371 semi-skilled, ₹22,411 skilled and ₹24,356 for graduates and above, for all scheduled employments. Delhi normally revises DA every 1 April and 1 October, but we found no later order on labour.delhi.gov.in as of 29 October 2026, so check for one before fixing pay.
Minimum wage rates in Delhi (from 1 April 2025)
Labour Department order F.No.(142)/02/MW/VII/Part file/211-241 dated 15 April 2025, giving DA from 1 April 2025 under the base notification of 22 October 2019. A Labour Department circular of 14 October 2025 called a "13 October 2025" DA order fraudulent and said the April 2025 increase was the last one. Some websites quote figures for a later revision; we could not find any order after 15 April 2025 (and none for 2026) on the Labour Department's current minimum wage page or another official Delhi Government site on 29 October 2026, so we have not used them.
| Category | Rate from 1 October 2024 | DA from 1 April 2025 | Per month | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | ₹18,066 | ₹390 | ₹18,456 | ₹710 |
| Semi-skilled | ₹19,929 | ₹442 | ₹20,371 | ₹784 |
| Skilled | ₹21,917 | ₹494 | ₹22,411 | ₹862 |
| Clerical: non-matriculate | ₹19,929 | ₹442 | ₹20,371 | ₹784 |
| Clerical: matriculate, not graduate | ₹21,917 | ₹494 | ₹22,411 | ₹862 |
| Clerical: graduate and above | ₹23,836 | ₹520 | ₹24,356 | ₹937 |
Zones and who is covered
One rate applies across Delhi for all scheduled employments, including shops and commercial establishments.
Minimum wages apply to every employee, whether paid monthly, daily or by the hour, permanent, temporary or through a contractor. Under the Code on Wages, 2019 the employer must pay at least the notified rate for the category and area. If you use a contractor, check that contract workers are paid at least the same rates.
Worked example
A Delhi trading office employs an unskilled office helper and a graduate accounts assistant.
- Helper: at least ₹18,456 a month. ESI applies (within ₹21,000): employee ₹139 and employer ₹600 (rounded up).
- Accounts assistant: at least ₹24,356 a month, above the ESI limit.
- Delhi has no professional tax, so nothing is deducted for PT.
If a newer DA order is published, it applies from its effective date, and the difference is owed as arrears.
Compliance checklist for employers
- Classify every employee in the notification's categories (unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, highly skilled or the staff grades) based on the actual work, not the job title alone.
- Compare gross wages for normal hours with the rate for the employee's zone, before PF, ESI and other deductions.
- Revise payroll from the first day of each new rate or VDA period and pay arrears for any period already paid at the old rate.
- Pay overtime at twice the ordinary rate for work beyond normal hours, as the Code on Wages requires.
- Keep wage registers and payslips that show the rate, days worked and deductions.
Minimum wage revisions move PF and ESI too: PF is 12% of wages up to ₹25,000, and ESI applies while gross wages are within ₹21,000 a month.
Keep payroll in step with each revision
Check take-home pay with the salary calculator, the employer and employee shares with the PF calculator and ESI calculator, and show every deduction clearly using the salary slip format. Work out pay for part months with the per-day salary calculator and extra hours with the overtime calculator. FundRaksha HR turns attendance and leave into paid days, calculates salary with PF, ESI, professional tax and TDS, and issues payslip PDFs, so a VDA revision is a rate change in one place rather than in every row of a spreadsheet. If you are choosing a tool, see our comparison of the best payroll software in India, and compare every State on the minimum wages by state page.
Sources
Last reviewed: 2026-10-21. Information for Indian businesses; not legal advice.