The government recently announced an income distribution survey, a first-of-its-kind exercise in India. It will also capture wage data, essentially making clear the extent of money that Indians earn across segments.
Some of this data is captured in private surveys such as the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) Consumer Pyramids Household Survey. An analysis of CMIE data shows that wages in India are picking up after dipping during the pandemic but growth remains in single-digit territory. The government survey is tentatively scheduled for 2026.
Wages have grown at 8.7 per cent on an annualised basis since 2018-19, shows CMIE data. This is lower than the 12 per cent growth in 2018-19 and 31 per cent growth seen in 2017-18 (recovery from demonetisation and associated disruptions may have played a role in the latter figure). The poor performance since the pandemic is despite a spurt in the latest year. Wages grew 19 per cent year-on-year in 2024-25, the fastest in seven years.
Wages are a part of income, which can also include inflows such as rent or interest from fixed deposits. Earlier attempts at collecting income data were not successful.
Educational segmentation shows over a 3 percentage point difference between the fastest- and slowest-growing groups. Those with no education saw wages grow at 10.6 per cent per annum since 2018-19, the last normal year before the pandemic. The more educated had slower wage growth over this period (chart 1, click image for interactive link).
This is not to say that education does not pay. The highest wages are for the highest education levels (more than Rs 4 lakh per annum for those who are graduates or more in 2024-25). Those with no education make around Rs 1.29 lakh. The numbers, however, show slower growth at the top of the education pyramid since the pandemic. This shows signs of changing in the latest year with the more educated gaining a slight edge.
The gender gap is marginally narrower after the pandemic. Men earned more than twice the wage of women (a 107 per cent difference) in 2018-19. They now earn roughly 72 per cent more (chart 2).
Salaried employees are among the laggards, shows occupational data. Salaried employee wages are up 6.2 per cent since 2018-19 compared to the overall figure of 8.7 per cent (chart 3).
While there has been a pick-up in wages for the most educated in the latest year, salaried wage growth continues to lag overall growth in 2024-25.