rural wages have been higher during the period, data showed. According to Nomura, rise in rural wages during pandemic is mostly due to supply-side factors.“Following the first wave lockdown, rural wages initially spiked due to supply and demand mismatches from the exodus of migrant workers.
Even after lockdowns were relaxed, conditions did not fully normalise," said Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi, economist, Nomura.In the financial year ending March 2021, rural wage build up in the agricultural sector increased by 7.2 percentage points after rising 3.8 percentage points (pp) in FY20, while rural non-agricultural wages rose by 5.4 pp compared to a 3.9 pp build up in FY20.