India, April 14 -- The Uttar Pradesh government announced a minimum-wage hike of around 21% for factory workers in Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ghaziabad on Tuesday, following days of escalating protests in Noida's industrial belt that left dozens of vehicles torched, over 350 people arrested, and at least five police personnel injured. But even as it moved to address the workers' core demand, the state government alleged a conspiracy behind the stir - invoking Pakistan, Naxalism, and "anti-national forces".

The protests, which began on April 10 at the Hosiery Complex in Noida's Phase 2, had been building for months. Workers earning between Rs.11,000 and Rs.15,000 a month - among the lowest wages in the National Capital Region - watched neigh...