There is still a lot of confusion prevailing. Minimum wages announced by the government are to ensure that laborers are paid the wages determined by the government. For example, if the minimum wages payable to a particular category of worker are Rs. 5500/-, the government also fixes the Basic amount, DA, and other components, and the total salary payable as minimum wages is determined.
As far as I understand, in the example above (of Rs. 5500/- as minimum wages), the wages can be split into components like Basic, HRA, and conveyance, and the total may be at par with Rs. 5500/- or above. In this case, the employer would have fulfilled the requirement of minimum wages notified by the government.
On the other hand, if the government announces Basic Rs. 3500 and VDA Rs. 2000, totaling Rs. 5500/-, is it acceptable to split the salary like this: Basic Rs. 2000; HRA, 2500/-; Conveyance Rs. 800/-; and Attendance allowance Rs. 200/-, thus arriving at Rs. 5500/- per month and ultimately paying them Rs. 5500/- (or more if designed accordingly).
Regards, Balaji