01 June 2024 – The Indian Express

Migration Patterns, Difficulties, and Solutions

• According to the International Organisation for Migration’s most recent World Migration Report, male emigration from India accounts for nearly 65% of all external migration, suggesting that men typically migrate for work while women typically stay behind. Migration from India to the US, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE is among the top 10 country-to-country migration corridors.

• The United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United States (US), and Saudi Arabia are home to the largest Indian diaspora, with about 18 million Indians living outside of their country of birth as of 2020. The main motivation for both domestic migration within India and migration abroad is usually the desire for better living conditions.

Migration: What is it?

• The definition of a migrant, according to the International Organisation for Migration, is a person who is moving or has moved across an international boundary or inside a state, leaving their normal place of residence.
• Analysing shifts in migration in terms of magnitude, direction, population, and frequency can help with the creation of effective policies, initiatives, and useful interventions.

Types and Trends of Movement:

• Within a nation, migration can be divided into three categories: intra-state, inter-state, and rural-urban. Migration can also be classified according to its place of origin and destination.
• External migration, also called international migration, is the movement of people or families across national borders due to a variety of reasons. These include education, family reunification, economic opportunities (Indian IT professionals work in the US or construction workers in the GCC), and the need for asylum due to persecution or conflict (Rohingya in Bangladesh).
• migration outside, from India, to different countries.
• population immigration to India from other nations.
• Forced migration is the term used to describe situations in which people or families are forced to relocate as a result of natural catastrophes, conflict, or persecution.
• Migration that is voluntary occurs when people or families decide to move, frequently as a result of better job opportunities or a desire for a higher standard of living.
• Permanent migration entails relocating permanently, whereas temporary migration is meant to be brief, like seasonal or temporary employment.
• Reverse migration is the term used to describe people or families who, having previously immigrated elsewhere, are going back to their home country or place of origin.

What Motives Different Types of Migration?

Financial Elements:

• Push Factors: People are motivated to leave their current location by economic hardships such as poverty, low productivity, and unemployment. For instance, farmers in Maharashtra who are experiencing low yields from recurrent droughts may relocate to Pune or Mumbai in search of employment in the construction or service sectors.
• Pull factors: Conversely, opportunities for better employment, more income, and a higher standard of living draw people to relocate. For instance, a recent graduate from an Uttar Pradesh village may relocate to Noida or Gurgaon for a software development job because of the higher salary and chance for a better life in the city.

Social and Cultural Aspects:

• Social variables that impact migration include marriage, family reunification, and the desire to live nearer to one’s community or social network.
• Examples include moving out to marry or to flee violence and discrimination based on caste.
• Preservation of cultural factors:
• Individuals may relocate to regions that uphold and preserve their cultural customs, traditions, and beliefs.
• To preserve their cultural identity, a community may relocate to an area where members of their ethnic or religious group are highly prevalent.
• Political Aspects:
• People may be forced to travel in quest of safety and security due to political instability, conflicts, and persecution.
• Migration patterns can also be influenced by elements like separatist movements, administrative decisions, and government policies.

Environmental Elements:

• Natural disasters, the effects of climate change, deforestation, a lack of water, etc. can all cause resources, houses, and livelihoods to be lost, which can result in migration.
• Consequently, impacted communities might have to relocate in pursuit of security, sustainability, and better living environments.
• According to some projections, the effects of climate change could cause a massive movement of approximately 45 million people out of India by the year 2050. Modify.
• Developmental Projects: Migration is a result of projects like the Ken Betwa River Linking Project and the Narmada Dam Project.
• For instance, more than 40,000 families—mostly indigenous people from the 245 villages dispersed over the three states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra—have been displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Project, a massive multipurpose river project on the Narmada River.

What Different Effects Are Associated With Migration?

Benefits:

• By raising consumer spending, productivity, and addressing labour shortages, migration can support economic growth.
• Remittances from migrants are the outcome of migration, and they constitute a substantial source of foreign cash for the place of origin.
• With nearly $111 billion in remittances received in 2022, India ranked as the top recipient, contributing to the reduction of the nation’s current account deficit.
• Effect on Society:
• As change agents in society, migrants help new concepts and innovations—like family planning and education—proliferate from urban to rural regions.

Variety in culture:

• In addition to promoting cultural diversity, migration broadens people’s viewpoints by aiding in the evolution of composite cultures.
• Multiple languages and customs are brought to societies through migration, which also encourages tolerance and innovation.

Increasing Life Quality:

• The act of migrating raises the prospects for work and financial stability, thereby improving the migrant population’s standard of living.
• Creativity:
• New ideas, abilities, and technology brought by migrants frequently stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation in their host nations.
• Flexibility in the Labour Market:
• Migration can assist in balancing the supply and demand of labour, especially in industries where there is a skilled labour shortage.

Adverse Effects:

Impact of Demographics:

• Migration redistributes people within a nation, especially in urban regions where it contributes to population expansion. On the other hand, migration from rural areas can have a negative impact and lead to feminization of agriculture, especially when it comes to the distribution of age and skill levels.

Effect on the Environment:

• Migration from rural to urban areas causes urban overcrowding, which strains the infrastructure and causes unplanned urban growth and the rise of slums. For instance, rural-urban migration is directly responsible for Mumbai’s enormous slum population, which is thought to make up more than half of the city’s population.
• Air and soil pollution in Indian cities is largely caused by increased traffic congestion and a reliance on unplanned settlements for the disposal of waste.

Tensions in society:

• Cultural conflicts, discrimination, and competition for housing, employment, and social services are just a few of the social tensions that migration may increase.
• Particularly when family members are left behind in sending nations, migration can cause social network disruption, mental hardship, and family separation.

What Are the Various Migration Statistics in India?

India’s Migration Report 2020–21:

• About 0.7% of the population was classified as temporary visitors between July 2020 and June 2021, according to data produced for temporary visitors and migrants in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s report dated June 2022.
• During the same time period, the overall migration rate in India was 28.9%; rates in rural regions were 26.5% and in urban areas were 34.9%.
• Men migrated at a rate of 10.7%, with 5.9% in rural and 22.5% in urban areas, while women migrated at a rate of 47.9%, with 48% in rural and 47.8% in urban areas.
• Whereas 49.6% of male migrants relocated in quest of work, 86.8% of female migrants did so in order to marry.

Census of 2011:

• In India, internal migrants made up about 45.36 crore, or 37% of the total population.
• About 1% of people of working age were anticipated to be net migrants each year, and by 2016, the number of workers in the nation had surpassed 50 crores.
• The Working Group on Migration’s 2017 report:
• Ten districts in Uttar Pradesh, six in Bihar, and one in Odisha made up the top 25% of all male out-migration in India.

What are the Different Difficulties Associated with India’s Migration?

• Insufficient Social Security and Health Benefits: Migrant workers are frequently subjected to hazardous working circumstances since they are not able to obtain basic social security and healthcare benefits, nor are regulations requiring minimal safety standards enforced in their places of employment. For instance, migrant construction workers in cities may not have access to the right safety gear, which makes them more susceptible to mishaps and injuries.
• According to data from the 2021–2022 Periodic Labour Force Survey, more than half (53%) of India’s regularly employed non-agricultural workers—which includes migrant labourers, independent contractors, and people who work from home—do not receive social security payments.
• Limited Portability of State-Provided Benefits: It can be challenging for migrant workers to obtain state-provided benefits, especially food supplies that are given via the public distribution system (PDS). For instance, residence regulations may make it difficult for migratory agricultural labourers to obtain food grains that are subsidised in their destination states.
• Lack of Access to Cheap Housing and essential Amenities: When migrant workers relocate to metropolitan regions, they sometimes face difficulties finding cheap housing and getting essential services like power, clean water, and sanitary facilities. Their vulnerability is increased and poverty cycles are sustained by their lack of access to sufficient housing and infrastructure.
• Effects of the COVID-19 epidemic: Migrant workers now face more difficulties as a result of the epidemic. For instance, migrant daily wage workers who were left stranded in cities during lockdowns suffered greatly from a lack of access to basic amenities and a loss of revenue.
• Exploitation and Discrimination: In the labour market, migrant workers frequently face exploitation and discrimination. They may also face pay theft, dangerous working conditions, and prejudice based on their language, ethnicity, or status as migrants.
• In Maharashtra, there have been cases of violence and prejudice against migrant workers, notably those from Bihar.
• A horrifying example was the 2008 attacks in Maharashtra on migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihari.