An examination of the changes in caste-based wage inequalities in India reveals an improvement in the relative wages of deprived caste groups. However, the improvement is slow and the deprived castes still earn significantly lower wages. The decomposition analysis shows an increase in the unexplained component, which, coupled with the narrowing of the wage gap, suggests that the improvement in wages may largely be a consequence of an improvement in educational and health outcomes due to affirmative action rather than a decline in labour market discrimination.