This page shows the current applicable minimum wage for the Dairy scheduled employment in Odisha. If you run a dairy, chilling centre, or milk cooperative in Odisha, or work as a milker, plant operator, or cattle attendant, the rates below are what the state has notified for each skill category.
Minimum wage rates for Dairy in Odisha
| Category of worker | Per day | Per month (26 days) |
|---|---|---|
| Unskilled | ₹472 | ₹12,272 |
| Semi-skilled | ₹522 | ₹13,572 |
| Skilled | ₹572 | ₹14,872 |
| Highly-skilled | ₹622 | ₹16,172 |
Rates effective 1 April to 30 September 2026.
What counts as Dairy
The Dairy scheduled employment covers work connected with the keeping, feeding, breeding, and milking of milch cattle and buffaloes, together with the collection, chilling, testing, processing, packaging, and distribution of milk and milk products. It spans both the livestock-rearing side at farms and cattle sheds and the plant side where raw milk is turned into curd, ghee, butter, paneer, cheese, and packaged milk.
- Dairy farms, cattle sheds and tabelas rearing milch cattle and buffaloes
- Milk collection and chilling centres in villages and towns
- Cooperative milk societies and district milk unions
- Milk processing plants and packaging dairies
- Milk product units making ghee, butter, curd, paneer and cheese
- Cattle feed and fodder preparation units
- Milk distribution depots and retail milk parlours
Typical roles and skill categories
- Cattle attendant or cowherd
- Hand and machine milker
- Fodder cutter and feed handler
- Milk collection centre operator and sampler
- Chilling and pasteurisation plant operator
- Separator, homogeniser and packaging machine operator
- Milk fat and quality testing lab technician
- Cold storage and loading or delivery helper
- Veterinary assistant and artificial insemination worker
In dairy work the unskilled category typically covers cattle attendants, fodder cutters, shed cleaners, and loading helpers, while the semi-skilled category covers hand and machine milkers, milk samplers, and collection centre operators. Skilled roles usually include chilling and pasteurisation plant operators, quality and fat-testing technicians, and packaging machine operators, and the highly skilled category generally covers veterinary assistants, artificial insemination workers, and dairy plant supervisors or technologists.
Who fixes this wage
Dairy is a notified scheduled employment for which the Odisha government fixes minimum wages by skill category, namely unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, and highly skilled. The rates are commonly further divided by geographic zone within Odisha, so the applicable figure depends on both the worker's category and the location of the establishment.
How Odisha sets minimum wages
Odisha's Labour Directorate publishes one schedule for the entire state, without geographical zones, listing four categories of worker. Both a per-day rate and a per-month rate on 26 days are given, and the current figures hold for the half-year from 1 April to 30 September 2026. The state revises through periodic notification rather than a variable dearness allowance.
Common questions
What is the current minimum wage for Dairy in Odisha?
In Odisha, the minimum wage for Dairy currently runs from about ₹472 to ₹622 per day and ₹12272 to ₹16172 per month, depending on skill category and zone, effective 1 April to 30 September 2026. The exact figure by category is in the table below. Confirm the exact rate for your worker's skill category and zone in the table above, and against the latest official notification.
Which dairy workers are covered by the minimum wage for this employment in Odisha?
The Dairy schedule covers workers across the whole chain, from cattle attendants, milkers, and fodder handlers at the farm and shed, to collection centre samplers, chilling and pasteurisation operators, packaging staff, lab technicians, and delivery helpers. Each worker is paid at least the notified rate for the skill category their duties fall under in Odisha.
Do milk cooperative societies and private dairies both fall under this scheduled employment?
Yes. Whether milk is handled by a village cooperative society, a district milk union, a private dairy, or a standalone chilling or processing plant, the workers engaged in dairy activities in Odisha come under the same Dairy scheduled employment and its notified minimum wages for each skill category.
How is a milker or plant operator placed in a skill category?
Placement depends on the actual nature of the duties and the training or experience the role needs, not on job title alone. Routine tasks like feeding and cleaning are treated as unskilled, milking and sampling as semi-skilled, and operating processing or testing equipment as skilled or higher, with the corresponding Odisha rate applied.
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