Inflation for farm labourers (CPI-AL)

Why it matters

Farm labour households live on daily wages and spend most of their budget on basic needs; food alone carries 57.88% of the index. They own little land or capital, so a rise in food prices cuts straight into what their wages can buy.

Minimum wages for farm work are revised with the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL). The index therefore decides how far the pay of low-paid rural workers keeps up with prices.

What it is

The Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) follows the retail prices paid by agricultural labour households. These households earn most of their income from wage-paid manual work on farms. They own little land or capital, so most of their budget goes on basic needs.

The Labour Bureau compiles the index every month, on base 2019 since the June 2025 index. Field staff of the National Statistics Office (NSO) collect prices at the markets serving 787 sample villages in 34 States and Union Territories. The weights come from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey of 2011-12, and food carries 57.88% of them.

The index exists to adjust wages for this group. Minimum wages for farm labour are revised with it. The yearly wage rate under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), notified from 1 April, was tied to it. On 1 July 2026 the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act replaced MGNREGA; under it, the Central Government notifies the wage rates. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices also uses it to judge labour costs when it recommends Minimum Support Prices. Because food is close to three-fifths of the basket, food prices drive most of its movement.

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