MGNREGA Tamil Nadu Salary 2025: Daily Wages, Payment Structure & Worker Benefits

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) guarantees wage employment to rural households for unskilled manual labour.In Tamil Nadu, the daily wage under MGNREGA has been increased to ₹336 a day, effective April 1, 2025.This increase in the MGNREGA wage is in line with the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL).The wage is the same for both genders and includes a 10% travel allowance if the work-site is 5 km or further away.There has been an increase in wages but the number of workdays per household has decreased in FY 2025.

Current Wage Rate (Financial Year 2025–26)

• The newly notified daily wage for unskilled manual work permitted by MGNREGA in Tamil Nadu is ₹336 per day, starting on April 1, 2025.
• This indicates a rise of approximately 5.33% from the previous year's rate of ₹319.

Past Rate (Financial Year 2024–25)

• From April 1, 2024, the wage was adjusted upward to ₹319 per day, an increase from ₹294 at the beginning of the same financial year - which represents a rise of ₹25.

Wage Revisions: CPI-AL Connection

• Wage revisions each financial year follow a central annual notification of the Ministry of Rural Development - this is normally issued at the end of March and is generally effective April 1, each financial year.
• Wage revisions are based upon yearly changes in the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) as a means of mitigating the impact of rural inflation, yearly notice corresponds to the previous financial year's inflation - normally wage revisions are between 2% - 7% year on year.

Disbursement of Wages for MGNREGA Workers in Tamil Nadu (2025)

1. Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS)

• Wages are transferred through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) directly to the worker’s bank account linked to their Aadhaar number.
• The Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS) offers transparency and accountability, and elimination of duplicate/fake job cards/entries.
• Workers must have their Job Cards linked to Aadhaar, and their accounts seeded so that the payment process goes smoothly.

2. Payment Timeline for Wages

• The wages are calculated weekly based on the muster rolls (attendance and output), and wages should be paid within 15 days of completing a week of work, according to MGNREGA guidelines.
• In Tamil Nadu, wages are generally paid on time, and it is estimated that greater than 90% of wage payments are made on time after completion of the 7-day work period.

3. Payment Delay Penalties

• If wages are not paid within 15 days of completion of a period of work, workers are entitled to a payment delay claim under Section 3(4) of the MGNREGA Act.
• If the wages are not paid within 15 days, the entitlements to compensation for late payment = 0.05% per day of unpaid wages once the 15-day period from the last payment runs out.
• The calculation of the compensation must be done automatically by the IT system and must be raised, verified and eventually paid to the worker.
• Although the State Government is responsible for paying the payment delay, the payment delay could be a result of the government waiting on the Centre to release funds.

Eligibility requirements for MGNREGA in Tamil Nadu (2025)

Through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), rural households who are seeking unskilled manual work are offered guaranteed wage employment. In order to avail the benefits from the scheme in Tamil Nadu, applicants must meet a list of established eligibility requirements from the Ministry of Rural Development and put into place by their local Panchayat.

Eligibility Criteria Table

How to Apply for MGNREGA Job Card in Tamil Nadu (2025)

MGNREGA is a rights-based scheme that provides for 100 days of un-skilled manual work to every rural household in need of un-skilled manual employment. To access the benefits of the scheme in Tamil Nadu, households (in order to be recognized as eligible to the scheme) must register with the local Gram Panchayat and receive a Job Card, which is evidence of entitlement under the scheme.

Application Process Table