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Minimum wages in Andhra Pradesh are fixed under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and notified by the Labour Department of the residual state formed in 2014. Rates are paid as a basic wage plus a Cost of Living Allowance across two zones. Andhra Pradesh notifies by occupational tier rather than by the classic unskilled to highly skilled ladder, listing six tiers of named designations for shops and commercial establishments.
The short answer For the period beginning 01 April 2026, minimum wages in Andhra Pradesh run from ₹12,317.20 a month for unskilled work in Zone II to ₹14,504.20 a month for a manager in Zone I. Every rate carries a Cost of Living Allowance of ₹8,947.20 a month, uniform across both zones and all six tiers – more than twice the unskilled basic. The schedule lists designations by name rather than by skill grade, so classification is a matter of matching the job to a named tier.
The monthly minimum is the notified basic for the tier and zone plus the current allowance of ₹8,947.20 – for unskilled work in Zone I that is ₹3,700 plus ₹8,947.20, or ₹12,647.20 a month. The daily rate is the monthly figure divided by 26, giving ₹486.43. Because the allowance carries the larger share of the wage, both components must be applied together; the basic alone is nowhere near a lawful wage.
The mistake to avoid: building a salary structure from the basic column. The notified basic for unskilled work in Zone I is ₹3,700 a month, while the allowance is ₹8,947.20 – nearly two and a half times larger. An employer who reads the basic and treats the allowance as discretionary will underpay by close to ₹9,000 a month per worker.
Worked example – unskilled, Zone I
Basic = ₹3,700 / month · Allowance = ₹8,947.20 / month
Total per month = 3,700 + 8,947.20 = ₹12,647.20
Per day = 12,647.20 ÷ 26 = ₹486.43
Per year = 12,647.20 × 12 = ₹1,51,766.40
One overtime hour at 8 std hrs = 486.43 ÷ 8 × 2 = ₹121.61
Andhra Pradesh does not use the unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled taxonomy for shops and commercial establishments. It notifies six occupational tiers of named designations, with the semi-skilled band split into A and B grades. The practical task is matching each job to a named designation rather than judging a skill level in the abstract.
Act on this: map every employee to a named designation in the schedule rather than to a generic skill label. Andhra Pradesh lists roles explicitly, so an inspection compares your wage register against the designation list – and a register recording only “staff” or “worker” gives you nothing to point at.
The minimum wages act in Andhra Pradesh is the central Minimum Wages Act, 1948 – there is no separate state Act. What the state issues are notifications fixing rates for its scheduled employments, and coverage does not depend on headcount. Contract workers receive the same notified rate as directly employed staff in the same tier and zone, with no separate lower schedule, and where a contractor underpays the principal employer carries the liability.
Paying below the notified rate exposes an employer to recovery of the shortfall for the whole affected period, compensation on top, and prosecution. Under the Code on Wages, 2019 a first offence attracts a fine of up to ₹50,000, and a repeat offence within five years can mean up to three months imprisonment and a fine of up to ₹1 lakh. Claims reach back three years, and the burden of showing that the correct wage was paid rests with the employer.
Act on this: build the notified rate plus statutory contributions into contract pricing rather than accepting the lowest quote. A per-head rate that cannot mathematically cover ₹12,647.20 a month plus PF and ESI is evidence of underpayment on its face, and the principal employer is approached first.
Minimum wages in Andhra Pradesh are fixed in two parts. The basic rate for each designation and zone derives from the gazette structure inherited from the undivided state, and on top of it the Commissioner of Labour notifies a Cost of Living Allowance revised every six months against Consumer Price Index movement. For the period beginning 01 April 2026 that allowance is ₹8,947.20 a month. Because the allowance carries most of the wage, each revision moves the payable figure materially.
Act on this: note that Andhra Pradesh and Telangana share identical basic rates – ₹5,557, ₹4,722, ₹4,520, ₹4,102, ₹3,886 and ₹3,700 in the higher zone – because both inherited the same pre-2014 gazette structure. Where they have diverged is the allowance: ₹8,947.20 in Andhra Pradesh against ₹9,408 in Telangana. A rate card carried between the two will look correct on the basic column and be wrong by ₹460.80 a month on every worker.
Revision history for shops and commercial establishments in Andhra Pradesh. The basic rates derive from the inherited gazette structure; only the allowance moves at revision.
| Effective From | Allowance / Month | Unskilled Zone I / Month | Manager Zone I / Month | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Apr 2026 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹12,647.20 | ₹14,504.20 | Six occupational tiers, two zones |
| 01 Oct 2025 | – | – | – | Preceding half-year |
| 01 Apr 2025 | – | – | – | Earlier revision |
Figures marked – are to be filled from the corresponding notification. Rates apply to the residual state of Andhra Pradesh formed in 2014, not to Telangana, which notifies separately. Cross-verified against compliance-maintained datasets, July 2026. Always confirm against the official notification of the relevant State Labour Department before finalizing payroll.
Andhra Pradesh is structurally unusual in the same way as Telangana: the allowance is far larger than the basic, so the schedule is unusually sensitive to each revision and unusually dangerous to model from basic figures alone. The two states share a basic structure inherited from the undivided state but have diverged on the allowance.
Unskilled minimum wage per day, compared with other states. Comparison figures are to be filled from each state’s own notification.
| State / Benchmark | Unskilled / Day | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh – Zone I | ₹486.43 | Basic ₹3,700 + allowance ₹8,947.20 a month |
| Andhra Pradesh – Zone II | ₹473.74 | Basic ₹3,370 + allowance ₹8,947.20 a month |
| Telangana – Zone I | ₹504.15 | Identical basic ₹3,700, but VDA ₹9,408 a month |
| Tamil Nadu – Zone A | ₹540.15 | Basic ₹6,691 + DA ₹7,353 a month, annual revision |
| Karnataka – Zone I | ₹620.66 | Basic ₹11,587.83 + VDA ₹4,549.20 a month |
| National Floor Wage | – | Advisory floor, not directly enforceable on employers |
Act on this: the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana comparison is the one to internalise. Identical basics, different allowances, ₹460.80 a month apart per worker. Any employer running establishments in both – and many do, given Hyderabad’s position – needs two rate masters, not one with a zone toggle.
The table below sets out minimum wages in Andhra Pradesh for shops and commercial establishments, effective 01 April 2026. The Cost of Living Allowance of ₹8,947.20 a month is the same for every tier and both zones. Daily figures are the monthly total divided by 26.
| Zone | Occupational Tier | Basic / Month | Allowance / Month | Total / Month | Total / Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone I | Manager / Field Officer / Computer Programmer | ₹5,557 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹14,504.20 | ₹557.85 |
| Accountant / Asst. Manager / Supervisor | ₹4,722 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹13,669.20 | ₹525.74 | |
| Salesman / Electrician / Welder / Mason | ₹4,520 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹13,467.20 | ₹517.97 | |
| Clerk / Typist / Asst. Accountant | ₹4,102 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹13,049.20 | ₹501.89 | |
| Weighman / Koligari / Computer Operator | ₹3,886 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹12,833.20 | ₹493.58 | |
| Peon / Attender / Helper / Messenger | ₹3,700 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹12,647.20 | ₹486.43 | |
| Zone II | Manager / Field Officer / Computer Programmer | ₹5,138 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹14,085.20 | ₹541.74 |
| Accountant / Asst. Manager / Supervisor | ₹4,520 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹13,467.20 | ₹517.97 | |
| Salesman / Electrician / Welder / Mason | ₹4,302 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹13,249.20 | ₹509.58 | |
| Clerk / Typist / Asst. Accountant | ₹3,886 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹12,833.20 | ₹493.58 | |
| Weighman / Koligari / Computer Operator | ₹3,757 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹12,704.20 | ₹488.62 | |
| Peon / Attender / Helper / Messenger | ₹3,370 | ₹8,947.20 | ₹12,317.20 | ₹473.74 |
Source: Labour Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh – minimum wages for shops and commercial establishments effective 01 April 2026. Figures apply to the residual state of Andhra Pradesh formed in 2014 and not to Telangana, which notifies separately. Cross-verified against compliance-maintained datasets, July 2026. Always confirm against the official notification of the relevant State Labour Department before finalizing payroll.
Andhra Pradesh uses two zones for shops and commercial establishments, decided by the type of local body governing the place where the work is performed.
Telangana is a separate jurisdiction
Hyderabad has been in Telangana since 2014 and reads from the Telangana schedule. Andhra Pradesh notifications have no application there, and Telangana’s allowance is ₹460.80 a month higher.
No Andhra Pradesh city carries a separate notification. Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore, Kurnool, Rajahmundry, Kakinada and Tirupati all fall in Zone I, so a peon or helper in any of them earns ₹12,647.20 a month or ₹486.43 a day, and a manager ₹14,504.20. An establishment in a smaller town or rural area applies Zone II, where the unskilled figure is ₹12,317.20. The one caution for employers with a historic Hyderabad presence: Hyderabad is in Telangana and reads from a different schedule entirely.
From 01 April 2026, minimum wages in Andhra Pradesh for shops and commercial establishments run from ₹12,317.20 a month for unskilled work in Zone II to ₹14,504.20 a month for a manager in Zone I. Unskilled Zone I is ₹12,647.20 a month or ₹486.43 a day. Every figure includes a Cost of Living Allowance of ₹8,947.20 a month.
No. Andhra Pradesh operates under the central Minimum Wages Act, 1948 — there is no separate state Act. What the state issues are notifications fixing rates for its scheduled employments, so the document you need is the current notification from the Labour Department, not a state statute.
Zone I covers Municipal Corporations together with Special-Grade and Selection-Grade Municipalities and major commercial hubs — Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore, Kurnool, Rajahmundry, Kakinada and Tirupati among them. Zone II is all remaining areas.
No, and this catches employers out because the two schedules look nearly identical. Both states inherited the same basic rates from the undivided state — ₹3,700 for unskilled work in the higher zone — but the allowances have diverged. Andhra Pradesh applies ₹8,947.20 a month against Telangana’s ₹9,408, a difference of ₹460.80 per worker per month.
Divide the notified monthly total by 26. Unskilled Zone I at ₹12,647.20 a month gives ₹486.43 a day and ₹1,51,766.40 a year. Overtime is twice the ordinary rate, calculated on basic plus allowance rather than on basic alone.
Not in the usual form. Andhra Pradesh notifies six occupational tiers of named designations rather than the classic four-grade ladder, with the semi-skilled band split into A and B. Clerks and typists sit in Semi-Skilled A, while electricians, welders and masons sit in the skilled tier — match the job to a named designation rather than to a skill label.
Alpesh Vaghasiya (CEO)
Alpesh Vaghasiya is the Co-founder and CEO of Superworks, a smart business management solution that Indian SMBs and large enterprises use to run attendance, payroll, and statutory compliance from a single system. He has spent over 15 years building software out of Surat, founding Artoon Solutions, now a 350+ person product engineering firm serving clients across 30+ countries, in 2009, before launching Superworks in 2020.
His writing comes from the operator's side of compliance - what actually breaks when payroll has to absorb a minimum wage revision, reconcile attendance across multiple sites, or file returns under different state rules in the same month. A Charter Member of TiE Surat and an active angel investor in early-stage Indian startups, he holds a B.E. in Computer Engineering from Gujarat University.
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