An expert committee formed under the ministry of labour and employment has recommended a minimum national wage of Rs 9,750 per month, which comes up to Rs 375 per day. An additional housing allowance of Rs 1,430 a month for city workers was also suggested.

The report dated January 2019 was made public this week. Among other recommendations made by the expert committee, it said, "setting the single value of the NMW for India at ₹ 375 per day (or ₹ 9,750 per month) as of July 2018, irrespective of sectors, skills, occupations and rural-urban locations, and introducing an additional house rent allowance (city compensatory allowance), averaging up to ₹ 55 per day i.e., ₹ 1,430 per month for urban workers over and above the NMW."

"However, this city compensatory rent allowance may be allowed to vary in accordance with the type of city and town," the report further said.

If accepted, this would be a national floor price and will not allow states to pay less than that. However, the pay could go more than the minimum set wage.

At present, it is the states that decide on the minimum wages by taking into factors like the sector of work. A national price was demanded by workers but hasn't been implemented yet.

To calculate the minimum wage, the committee has also recommended "increasing the previously established three consumption units per worker's family to 3.6 consumption units."