Context: As per the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Report, “400 Million Dreams” the domestic migration has reduced by 11.78% as compared to 2011 census.
| Relevance of the Topic Mains: Labour issues and Migration led economy. |
Major Highlights:
- The EAC-PM has highlighted the reduction in migration rate from 37.64% in 2011 to 28.88% in 2023. In 2023, the estimated number of migrants is about 40.20 crore as compared to 45.57 crore in census 2011.
- Three datasets were used to estimate the data:
- Indian Railway Unreserved Ticketing System data on passenger volume.
- Mobile telephone roaming data from TRAI
- District level banking data on remittances
- Cities attracting the most migrants: Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi and Hyderabad.
- West Bengal, Rajasthan and Karnataka have shown maximum growth in migrant arrivals.
- Hypothesis for trend: Report suggests improvement in health, education and economic opportunities in small cities as the reason for reduction in the migration rate.
Other Possible Reasons for Reduction in Migration
- Reduced urban center attraction: The urban centers are suffering from decaying infrastructure, high inflation and poor housing conditions. This can reduce the migration towards the urban centers.
- Preference to short distance migration: Migrants from semi-urban centers can prefer short distance migration to seek better economic opportunities.
- Policy factor: Government policies like Aspirational District Programme has promoted the jobs and quality of life in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, reducing migration
- Emerging labour opportunities: Percolation of development to the semi-urban areas especially the infrastructure projects creates a labour market in the small towns.
Also Read: Migration in India: Current Issue and Challenges
About EAC-PM
- Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister is an independent, non-constitutional and non-permanent body formed to provide objective advice on economic policy matters to the Prime Minister.
- It consists of a chairperson, followed by experts from domains like economy, finance, agriculture etc.
Conclusion: The findings in the report not only highlights the migration pattern but also indicates the potential better economic conditions in semi-urban areas, reducing the necessity of migration to urban centers.