Telangana hikes minimum wages for workers, ranges between ₹16,000 to ₹20,000

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced a major decision on revising minimum wages for workers in Telangana breaking the workers into four categories and into three zones in the State.

The Chief Minister said the decision would benefit 1.11 crore workers across the State and would come into effect from June 1, 2026.

Addressing the media at a press conference held at the State Secretariat in Hyderabad on Thursday (May 21, 2026) along with Labour Minister G. Vivek, he said the government has classified workers into four categories — unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled. The state has also been divided into three zones for determining minimum wages. Zone-1 includes Municipal Corporations, Zone-2 covers Municipalities, while Zone-3 consists of rural areas.

Under the revised structure, the minimum wage for unskilled workers has been increased from ₹12,750 to ₹16,000. For semi-skilled workers, wages have been raised from ₹13,152 to ₹17,000. Skilled workers will now receive ₹18,500 instead of ₹13,772, while highly skilled workers’ wages have been increased from ₹14,607 to ₹20,000.

Describing it as the first major decision for workers’ welfare since the formation of Telangana, the Chief Minister alleged that the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government had neglected its responsibility, whereas the present government had acted responsibly to protect workers’ interests.

Recalling veteran labour leader G. Venkataswamy, the Chief Minister said Minister Vivek Venkataswamy was carrying forward his legacy by taking progressive decisions for workers’ welfare.

Opportunities in Germany, Japan and Singapore

The Chief Minister also advised youth to move beyond the mindset of focusing only on IT jobs and opportunities in the United States. He said education without employment or livelihood opportunities was meaningless.

Stressing the importance of technical skills, he noted that countries such as Germany, Japan and Singapore offered vast employment opportunities. The State government had established a Skills University to encourage youth in that direction and urged them to focus on skill-based education and employment opportunities.