NEW DELHI: The government has increased minimum wage across the country to Rs 160 a day from Rs 137 with effect from this month. It has raised the threshold after two years on the basis of average increase in the consumer price index for industrial workers during this period.Labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday said he has written to all chief ministers and lieutenant governors to take necessary steps to fix minimum rates of wages in respect of all scheduled employments in states and union territories not below the revised level."While reviewing the movement of CPI-IW (consumer price index for industrial workers) during April 2014 to March 2015 over the period April 2012 to March 2013, it was observed that the average CPIIW has risen from 215.17 to 250.83. Accordingly, the NFLMW (national floor level minimum wage) has been revised upwards from existing Rs 137 to Rs 160 per day with effect from July 1, 2015," Dattatreya said. In order to have a uniform wage structure and to reduce the disparity in minimum wages across the country, NFLMW is fixed on the basis of the CPI-IW. The NFLMW was last revised from Rs 115 to Rs 137 per day in July 2013.NFLMW is a non-statutory measure and after every revision states are persuaded to fix minimum wages such that in none of the scheduled employments the minimum wage is less than NFLMW. The list of scheduled employment under the Minimum Wage Act, 1948, differs from state to state and covers a wide spectrum of employment creating sectors including industry, construction, agriculture and services sector.In a separate letter, Dattatreya urged all chief ministers and LGs to ensure compliance regarding social security coverage of outsourced staff working in the government departments, public sector undertakings, state cooperatives and other bodies. "The National Human Rights Commission incidentally is also monitoring the implementation as the social security is considered as a human right of an individual," the minister said in his letter written on Tuesday.He further said, "It has been observed that various departments, PSUs, state cooperatives and other state-run bodies are increasingly employing a large number of staff on outsourcing basis."