Ensure Rs 400 per day min wage to achieve 'Asli 400 paar', Cong asks PM

Flagging the issue of "decline in real wages", the Congress on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been delivered a "stinging rebuke by voters" in his efforts to reach "400 paar" in the Lok Sabha but the Budget offers him the chance to achieve "Asli 400 paar" of a nationwide minimum wage of Rs 400 per day.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said multiple data sources, including the government's own official statistics, are unanimous in showing that workers can buy less today than they could 10 years ago.

"A combination of slow wage growth and back-breaking inflation has caused an unprecedented decline in real wages (wages adjusted for price rise)," he said in a statement.

Citing the government data of labour bureau's wage rate index, Ramesh said real wages for labourers stagnated between 2014 and 2023, and in fact declined between 2019 and 2024.

He further cited the Ministry of Agriculture's Agricultural Statistics to claim that under Manmo