Migration and Economic Survey 2016-17

• Historically, migration of people for working education has been a phenomenon that accompanies the structural transformations of economies and has paved the way for shifting surplus labour from relatively low productive sectors like agriculture to sectors enjoying a much higher productivity. The resulting remittance flows increase household spending in the source region which in turn furthers its economic development.
• India like other developing countries has witnessed a strong interstate migration which also in lines to the 2 popular conceptions :- a) Less affluent states see more people migrating out while the most affluent states are the largest recipients of migrants; b) The cost of moving for people is about twice as much as it is for goods.

The survey has, for the first time, analysed the 2011 census data and railway passenger traffic flows data from 2011 to 2017. It has observed:-

• India is increasingly in the move with an annual average flow of close to 9 million people between states.
• The migration is accelerating. The census data reveals that growth of labour migrants doubled relative to the previous decade. The acceleration of migration was particularly pronounced in females. In 1990s migration of females was extremely limited; in 2000s female migration grew far more rapidly than the female workforce.
• While internal political borders did impede the flow of the people, language does not seem to be the barrier. The decision of not dictating a lingua franca for the country appears to have succeeded.
• The rewards in the form of prospective income and employment opportunities have become greater than the costs and risks that migration entails.
• Relatively less developed states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have a high net out-migration while developed states like Goa, Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat reflect net in-migration. The largest recipient was Delhi region which accounted for almost half of the migrants while UP and Bihar accounted for almost half of out-migrations.
• A dynamic between Gujarat and Maharashtra has been observed where Surat has started acting as a counter magnet region to Mumbai and attracts migrants from the neighbouring districts of Maharashtra. Similar trend is observed in Jaipur and Chandigarh to Delhi.

An India on the move is an India of churn. To sustain this churn, certain policy initiatives like portability of food security, health and a basic security framework for the migrant are crucial. Interstate coordination and leveraging of the inter-state remittance (1.5 lakh crore) to enhance financial inclusion of migrants and their families would enhance the welfare and encourage integration.

By: Vishal