Inter-State Migration in India

Today’s edition of our Current Affairs will comprise a discussion on Inter State Migration in India. Read further to upgrade your UPSC CSE knowledge and also understand the topic’s relevance to the UPSC syllabus.

For Prelims: Economic and Social Development 

Inter-State Migration, UN Migration Agency (IOM), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Migrant Workers, National Data Base of Unorganized Workers (NDUW), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

For Mains: GS Paper II (Government policies and interventions) & GS Paper III (Inclusive growth and issues arising from it)

About Migration, Causes of Migration, Data on migration, Effect of Migration, Government Initiatives for Migrant Workers.

Context

Recently the manufacturers in Tamil Nadu have expressed their concerns over the possibility of North Indian workers leaving the state.

• Almost a million migrants are estimated to work in Tamil Nadu, and industry bodies fear the state’s industrial and manufacturing sector would be severely impacted by an exodus.
• Migrants panicked due to assaults faced by Hindi-speaking men.

Probable Question

Explain the severity of inter-state migration in India? (150 words, 10 marks)

About Migration

• According to the UN Migration Agency (IOM), a migrant is anyone traveling across an international boundary or within a State other than their usual residence.
• For the first time, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development acknowledges migration's input to sustainable development. Out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 11 of them have indicators and goals related to movement.
• The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration. 
• In December 2000, the General Assembly proclaimed 18th December International Migrants Day.

Reasons of Migration in India

• Some people relocate to join family, pursue educational possibilities, or find employment or economic opportunities. 
• Others relocate in order to flee hostilities, oppression, terrorism, or human rights abuses. 
• Others relocate in reaction to the unfavorable effects of environmental factors like natural disasters or climate change.

Data on migration

2011 Census

• The number of internal migrants in India at 45.36 crore, making up 37% of the country’s population. 
• This number included both inter-state migrants and migrants within each state. The annual net migrant flows amounted to about 1% of the working age population.
• As per the 2011 census, India’s workforce was 48.2 crore strong. 

2016 census

• District-wise migration data showed that the highest influx of migrants within the country was in city-districts such as Gurugram, Delhi, and Mumbai; along with Gautam Budh Nagar (Uttar Pradesh); Indore and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh); Bengaluru (Karnataka); and Thiruvallur, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Erode, and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu).

2017 census

• As per the Report of the Working Group on Migration, 2017 under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, 17 districts accounted for the top 25% of India’s total male out-migration. 
• Ten of these districts are in UP, six in Bihar, and one in Odisha.
• “Relatively less developed states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have high net out-migration. Relatively more developed states take positive CMM (Cohort-based Migration Metric) values reflecting net immigration: Goa, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. 

Migration in India 2020-21

• As per the report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in June 2022, 0.7% of the country’s population was recorded as a ‘temporary visitor’.
• Over 84% of these 0.7% temporary visitors moved places for reasons linked to the pandemic.
• The all-India migration rate was 28.9% for July 2020-June 2021, with a 26.5% migration rate in rural areas and 34.9% in urban areas.

Female migration

• Females recorded a higher share of migration rate of 47.9%; 48% in rural and 47.8% in urban areas. Migration rate for males was 10.7%, with 5.9% in rural and 22.5% in urban areas.
• Among females, the highest level of migration rate was seen at 86.8% for marriage, while 49.6% of the males migrated in search of employment, to take up better employment/ business/ proximity to place of work, or loss of job/ closure of unit/ lack of employment opportunities.’

Effect of Migration

• Migration causes social, economic, and political issues in the host countries. 
• The displacement of native workers from rural and urban jobs has a negative impact on social institutions.
• This also led to deterioration of the pay structures of the informal, rural, and urban sectors.
• The large-scale reverse migration of workers to their home states during the Covid-19 lockdown three years ago had seriously disrupted economic activity.

Government Initiatives for Migrant Workers

• The Central Government has created a national portal to facilitate the registration of the unorganized workers including migrant workers, which are the most vulnerable section of the labor force through a National Data Base of Unorganised Workers (NDUW).
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is the best scheme for providing sustainable livelihoods to unskilled workers (including migrant workers). 
• Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan (GKRA) provides employment to returnee migrants affected by COVID-19 pandemic in 116 selected districts across six states (Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh).

News Source: The Indian Express

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-economics/tamil-nadu-migrant-attack-india-numbers-explained-8482919/

Frequently Asked Questions about Inter State Migration in India

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