Internal migration can be understood and measured in terms of types or streams of movement. The types of internal migration can be intra-district or within the district, intra-state or within the state, and inter-state. The streams of internal migration can be rural-rural, rural-urban, urban-rural, and urban-urban.
Who are migrants?
It is difficult to precisely calculate the volume of migration, especially because of the informal nature of the Indian economy. The Census of India provides useful data on understanding permanent movement and, to some extent, semi-permanent migration. The Census defines two types of migrants in India – migration by place of birth and migration by last residence.
A migrant by birth is a person who is enumerated in a Census at a different place than where they were born.
A migrant by the last residence is one who resides at a place different from the place of enumeration continuously for at least six months prior to the migration.
According to the Census data, the number of internal migrants in India has increased from 232.1 million in 1991 to 314.6 million in 2001, and further to 453.7 million in 2011. It has been found that between 1991 and 2011, the share of migrants in rural India increased from 26.1 per cent to 32.5 per cent while in urban India, the same increased from 32.3 per cent to 48.4 per cent.
Migration for marriage has been one of the most important reasons for migration and most of these migrants are generally women. Further, the general trend for migration for work or employment reflects that such migrants are mostly youth, indicating the role of the demographic dividend and the gendered layers of migration. Migration in India is also segmented on caste, tribe, religious, and regional identities.
Streams of migration
In terms of the streams of migration, close to 85 per cent of the migration has been within the state. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) also provide useful data on internal migration. According to NSSO surveys, rural-urban migration is the most dominant form of migration and comprises 25.2 per cent of all internal migration in India, followed by urban-urban (22.9 per cent), urban-rural (17.5 per cent), and rural-rural (4.4 per cent).
Census data has found that while the number of internal migrants has increased in India, the movement has been mostly limited to intra-state migration. The 2011 Census estimated around 453 million migrants in India, which is 37 per cent of the total population. This marks a notable increase from 30 per cent recorded between 1991 and 2001.
In the absence of the 2021 Census data, it has become difficult to capture an updated number of migrants. However, according to Migration in India (2020-21) survey, 29 per cent of Indians are migrants, which is nearly 400 million. In comparison to the other countries in the world, India can be seen as an “immobile country” with fairly low levels of internal migration. For instance, a study of 82 countries in 2014 found that India is ranked 81st in terms of internal migration.
Economists have also pointed out that urbanisation rate – another way of capturing internal migration trends – in India is lower than in most countries. For instance, according to World Bank data, 35 per cent of Indians lived in cities as of 2021 as compared to 63 per cent in China and 43 per cent in lower-middle-income countries. India’s slower urbanisation rate suggests limited internal mobility, despite urban economic growth.
Circular and seasonal nature of migration
Academics and economists argue that one issue why the data shows such low levels of internal migration is that the nature of migration in India is often seasonal, temporary, short-term, and circular, making it difficult to measure. Both Census and NSSO data fail to adequately capture seasonal short-term migration.
As mentioned earlier, the Census mainly captures migration through two parameters: migration by place of birth and last residence. However, the NSSO has tried to capture migration data from different perspectives. The 64th round of NSSO (2007-08) attempted to capture seasonal or short-term migrants, who have migrated for a period of one month but not exceeding six months for employment.
Seasonal migration refers to the temporary movement of individuals or groups from one location to another in response to changes in seasons or cyclical economic conditions. Seasonal migrants are involved in seasonal occupations at the destination. This type of migration is typically driven by the availability of resources, employment opportunities, or climatic conditions specific to a particular time of year.
In India, seasonal migration has often been described as distress-driven and often individuals migrate with the entire household, leading to family migration. There is also increasing recognition that seasonal migrants in cities remain on the extreme margins in their urban work destinations, with layers of social, economic, and political vulnerabilities.
However, it has been noted that seasonal migrants contribute significantly to the economy. Migrants in large cities work in construction, factories, small hotels, restaurants and food stalls, as domestic help, in head loading, scrap recycling, vegetable vending, etc. Further, housing and basic services for migrants in their urban work destinations remain inadequate along with other issues of urbanisation.
Reverse migration
The structural changes in the Indian economy post-liberalisation in 1991 contributed to the growth of the informal economy, which became a major source of employment, especially for migrant labour. Migrant workers, often coming from rural areas with limited skills and resources, primarily get absorbed in informal sectors (construction, manufacturing, domestic work, and small-scale industries). They also find it hard to enter into formal jobs because of limited bargaining power and constrained networks.
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the precarious nature of these informal jobs that triggered a large-scale reverse migration from destination to the source. Due to Covid-induced lockdown, migrant workers particularly in urban areas lost their jobs as factories, construction sites, and other informal sectors came to a halt.
Various sources reported that as many as 50 to 120 million workers departed for their native places. The NSSO conducted the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in 2020-21 and incorporated questions related to migration. This data confirms that many individuals moved from urban to rural areas.
Return migrants can be defined as individuals who report their current place of enumeration as their usual place of residence at any time in the past. In simple words, a return migrant is an individual who moves back to their place of origin or previous residence after spending a significant period in another location. As per PLFS 2020-21 data, return migrants accounted for 53 per cent of migrants in that time period.
One prime concern in the aftermath of the reverse migration was the absorption of the returnees. Migrant workers were also at the risk of falling deeper into poverty during the crisis due to the informal nature of their work. Encouraging the provision of safety nets and social security benefits can provide leverage to migrant workers.
Economists have also talked about the reduction of the costs of migration to facilitate inter-state migration of workers. There has been some progress made on food security. Schemes like “one nation one ration card” and fair-price shops can also help in the betterment of migrant lives in India.
Post Read Questions
Why is migration considered an essential livelihood strategy for rural households in developing countries like India?
What role does internal migration play in shaping urban and rural economies in India?
How is internal migration defined, and what are its key characteristics?
Why is the informal economy a major source of employment for migrant workers in India?
What is the concept of “One Nation, One Ration Card,” and how does it benefit migrant workers?
(Ritwika Patgiri is a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Economics, South Asian University.)
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The Census of India provides useful data on understanding permanent movement and, to some extent, semi-permanent migration. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna) 
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