Urbanisation and

Migration

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Contents
1 What is Urbanization? ............................................................................................................................4
1.1 Important Definitions (from Census 2011) .....................................................................................4
1.1.1 Municipal Law classification of urban areas ............................................................................5
1.2 Important Data (as per Census 2011): ............................................................................................5
1.3 Trends in Rural Urban Distribution of Population ..........................................................................5
1.4 Urbanization and Associated Phenomenon ................................................................................5
1.4.1 Urban Agglomeration (UA) ......................................................................................................5
1.4.2 Out Growths (OG) ....................................................................................................................6
1.4.3 Over-Urbanization ...................................................................................................................6
1.4.4 Sub-Urbanization .....................................................................................................................6
1.4.5 Urban Renewal ........................................................................................................................6
1.4.6 Megapolitan Development ......................................................................................................7
1.5 Impact of urbanization in the rural areas .......................................................................................7
1.6 Urbanisation Trends in India ...........................................................................................................8
1.6.1 Specific Reasons of Urbanization in India since Independence ..............................................8
1.7 Problems Associated with Urbanisation .........................................................................................9
1.7.1 Urbanization and Health ..........................................................................................................9
1.7.2 Urbanization and Education ..................................................................................................10
1.7.3 Urbanization and Sanitation ..................................................................................................10
1.7.4 Urbanization and Housing Problem.......................................................................................10
1.7.5 Urbanization and Poverty ......................................................................................................10
1.7.6 Urbanization and Unemployment .........................................................................................11
1.7.7 Urbanization and Urban Administration ...............................................................................11
1.8 Government Initiatives .................................................................................................................11
1.9 Way Forward .................................................................................................................................13
1.9.1 Improved Governance ...........................................................................................................13
1.9.2 Inclusive Cities .......................................................................................................................13
1.9.3 Financing ................................................................................................................................13
1.9.4 Planning .................................................................................................................................14
1.9.5 Local capacity building ...........................................................................................................14
1.9.6 Affordable housing ................................................................................................................14
1.9.7 Sustainable Urban Development ...........................................................................................14
2 Migration ..............................................................................................................................................15
2.1 Forms of Migration .......................................................................................................................15
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 2.1.1 Immigration and Emigration ..................................................................................................15
2.1.2 In-migration and Out-migration ............................................................................................16
2.1.3 Typology based on time.........................................................................................................16
2.1.4 Forms of Internal Migration in India......................................................................................16
2.2 Reasons For Migration ..................................................................................................................16
2.2.1 Economic factors ...................................................................................................................16
2.2.2 Socio-Cultural Factors ............................................................................................................17
2.2.3 Political factors ......................................................................................................................18
2.2.4 Environmental factors ...........................................................................................................18
2.3 Consequences Of Migration..........................................................................................................18
2.3.1 Economic Consequence .........................................................................................................18
2.3.2 Demographic Consequences .................................................................................................19
2.3.3 Social and Psychological Consequences ................................................................................19
2.4 Migration and Inequality...............................................................................................................20
2.5 COVID-19 induced Migration Crisis in India ..................................................................................21
2.6 India’s Internal Migration .............................................................................................................21
2.7 Measures taken by the government to aid migrants ...................................................................21
2.7.1 Transport ...............................................................................................................................21
2.7.2 Food distribution ...................................................................................................................22
2.7.3 Housing ..................................................................................................................................22
2.7.4 Financial aid ...........................................................................................................................22

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1 What is Urbanization?
Urbanization (or the growth of urban settlement), is the process of becoming urban, moving to cities,
changing from agriculture to other pursuits common to cities, such as trade, manufacturing, industry
and management, and corresponding changes of behavior patterns.

An increase in the size of towns and cities leading to growth of urban population is the most
significant dimension of urbanization. In ancient times there have been great many cities such as Rome
or Baghdad, but ever since industrialization and increasing industrial production, cities have grown
phenomenally and now urbanization is very much part of our contemporary life.

In India, urbanization has been a rapidly growing trend in recent decades. The population of India's cities
and towns has been increasing faster than the rural population. According to the 2011
Census, the urban population in India was about 31.2% of the total population. This is projected to grow
around 40% of the total population by 2030.

Urbanization in India was mainly a post-independence phenomenon, due to adoption of mixed system
of economy by the country, which gave rise to the development of private sector. It has been taking
place at an increasingly fast rate in India. The following table shows the increase in urban population
from Pre- independence till date.

GLOBAL URBAN POPULATION

As per World Urbanization Prospects, 2018 revised: The urban population of the world has grown rapidly from
751 million in 1950 to 4.2 billion in 2018. The report notes that future increase in the size of World's urban
population is expected to be highly concentrated in just a few countries. India, China and Nigeria will account
for 35% of the projected growth of world's urban population between 2018 and 2050.Today, the most
urbanized regions include Northern America (with 82% of its population living in urban areas in 2018), Latin
America and the Caribbean (81%), Europe (74%) and Oceania (68%). The level of urbanization in Asia is now
approximating 50%. In contrast, Africa remains mostly rural, with 43% of its population living in urban areas.

1.1 Important Definitions (from Census 2011)

Urban area

1. All places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee, etc.
2. All other places which satisfy the following criteria:
• A minimum population of 5,000.
• At least 75 per cent of the male main working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits.
• A density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km.

Statutory town
• All places with criterion (1) above are called statutory towns.
• These towns are notified under law by the concerned State/UT Government and have local bodies
like municipal corporations, municipalities, municipal committees, etc., irrespective of their
demographic characteristics as reckoned on 31st December 2009.

Census town
• Places which satisfy criterion (2) above are referred to as census towns or non-municipal towns.

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1.1.1 Municipal Law classification of urban areas
In India, the Municipal Law classification of urban areas is different to that of the Census. The categories
according to the Municipal Laws are as follows:

1. The Municipal Corporation having population about 3 lakhs.

2. Municipal Council with 1 to 3 lakh population and
3. Nagar Panchayats having 5000 – 10,000 population

1.2 Important Data (as per Census 2011):

1. For the first time since Independence, the absolute increase in population is more in urban areas
than in rural areas.
2. Rural – Urban distribution: 68.84% & 31.16%
3. Level of urbanization increased from 27.81% in 2001 Census to 31.16% in 2011 Census.
4. The proportion of rural population declined from 72.19% to 68.84%.

Concept Check
Q. Urbanization is best defined as
a) People moving from rural areas to urban areas
b) The growth in the population of urban areas as a result of several factors
c) The increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas
d) People moving from urban areas to rural areas
e) None of the above
Answer: C

1.3 Trends in Rural Urban Distribution of Population

1.4 Urbanization and Associated Phenomenon

1.4.1 Urban Agglomeration (UA)

A town together with its outgrowth(s) is treated as an integrated urban area and is designated as
“Urban agglomeration”. It constitutes:

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 I. A city or a town with a continuous outgrowth, the outgrowth being outside the statutory limit
but falling within the boundaries of the adjoining village or villages; or
II. Two or more adjoining towns with their outgrowth, if any, as in (i) above; or
III. A city and one or more adjoining towns with or without outgrowth all of which form a
continuous spread.
Ex: Greater Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata.

Note: The top three most populated urban agglomerations (UA) in India, viz. Greater Mumbai, Delhi, and
Kolkata, far exceed in population than the rest of the UAs in India. These three urban centers have therefore
been given the title of Mega Cities (these have a population of more than 10 million).

1.4.2 Out Growths (OG)

• An Outgrowth (OG) is a viable unit such as a village or a hamlet or an enumeration block made up of
such village or hamlet and clearly identifiable in terms of its boundaries and location.
• Some of the examples are railway colony, university campus, port area, military camps, etc., which
have come up near a statutory town outside its statutory limits but within the revenue limits of a
village or villages contiguous to the town.
• While determining the outgrowth of a town, it has been ensured that it possesses the urban
features in terms of infrastructure and amenities such as pucca roads, electricity, taps, drainage
system for disposal of waste water etc. educational institutions, post offices, medical facilities,
banks etc. and physically contiguous with the core town of the UA.

1.4.3 Over-Urbanization
Over-urbanization is a phenomenon wherein the level of urbanization surpasses the level of
industrialization. In an over urbanized area, population growth outstrips its job market and the capacity
of its infrastructure. This phenomenon can also be referred as Urbanisation without Industrialisation.
E.g., Mumbai, Kolkata, and Delhi are some of the over urbanized cities.

1.4.4 Sub-Urbanization
It is closely related to over-urbanization of a city. Over a period of time, people from the Over Urbanized
area start moving towards the fringe area around the cities. Such areas around the cities gradually start
developing as an urban area. This phenomenon is known as Sub Urbanisation.

There are several factors which leads to the

process of Sub-urbanization such as:

1. High cost of living in over urbanized area,

2. Development of transport facility around
the horizons of over urbanized area,
3. New work culture that does not
necessitate the physical presence each
day.
4. Inclusion of surrounding areas of towns
within its municipal limits

Delhi is a typical example; wherein all the

above-mentioned factors have led to the development of sub urbanized area. E.g., Ghaziabad,
Faridabad, Meerut etc.

1.4.5 Urban Renewal

• Urban renewal is a continuous process of remodeling urban areas by means of rehabilitation and
conservation as well as redevelopment.
• In urban renewal, the emphasis is given on those parts of the city which have fallen below current
standards of public acceptability.

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• They are commonly found to be in the residential part of the inner city and also in the central
parts of the inner city, face problems of inadequate housing, environmental deprivation, social
malaise, and the presence of non-conforming uses.
• The central business city part faces problems of traffic congestion and obsolescence of building and
obsolesce of building and sites.

1.4.6 Megapolitan Development

• One of the most important facets of urbanization in the developed countries is the growth of cities
not in terms of population but in terms of area.
• Here the cities expand physically, and the same number of people will be living in the cities but at
low densities.
• The examples of megapolitan type of development are characteristics of Atlantic Seaboard of USA,
and in Japan it has appeared naturally and, in the Netherlands, it has appeared by design and
planning.
• The United States megapolis extends over 600 miles from Boston to Washington D.C., the Tokaido
megapolis extends from Tokyo, Yakohoma to Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto and the Ransted megapolis
comprises of three major cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. This process has also
started in developing countries.

It is important to understand the force of urbanization through its impact and significance which is
discussed below.

1.5 Impact of urbanization in the rural areas

1. Rural to Urban Migration - Urbanization, driven by westernization and modernization, has
accelerated rapid social change in both rural and urban areas of India. A significant aspect of this
transformation is the continuous process of rural-to-urban migration, profoundly impacting the
social, economic, and cultural lives of villagers across the country.
2. Rao’s analysis - Rao (1974) distinguishes three different situations of urbanization impact in the
rural areas.
A. In the villages from where large number of people migrate to the far-off cities, urban
employment becomes a symbol of higher social prestige.
B. Villages, which are located near the towns, receive influx of immigrant workers, and face the
problems of housing, marketing, and social ordering.
C. Lastly, in the process of the growth of metropolitan cities some villages become the rural-
pockets in the city areas. Hence the villagers directly participate in the economic, political, social,
and cultural life of the city.
3. Caste component - Srinivas pointed out that urbanisation in southern India has a caste component
and that, it was the Brahmin who first left the village for the towns and took advantage of western
education and modern professions. At the same time as they retained their ancestral lands they
continued to be at the top of the rural socio-economic hierarchy. Again, in the urban areas they
had a near monopoly of all non-manual posts. However, the anti-Brahmin movement and the
economic depression of the nineteen thirties led to the migration of Brahmins from the south and
rural areas to metropolitan cities.
4. Flow of urban money into rural areas - As a result of migration there has been a flow of urban
money into the rural areas. Emigrants regularly send money to their native villages. Such money
facilitates the dependents to clear off loans, build houses and educate children.
5. Diffusion of fashion from urban areas - The urban centers of India have become the centres of
national and international linkages. At present, many cultural traits are diffused from cities to the
rural areas. For example, dress patterns like pants, shirts, ties, skirts, jeans etc. diffuse from cities
to the rural areas. Besides these, new thoughts, ideologies are also diffused from the cities to the
rural areas due to increase in communication via radio, television, newspaper, computer, the
internet and telephone.

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6. Ripple effect of urbanization - At present, along with the whole gamut of occupational
diversification, spread of literacy, education, mass communication etc., continuity between rural
and urban areas has increased.
7. Commercialization of agriculture - The large-scale commercialization of agriculture has also been
facilitated by the process of urbanisation. Similarly, agricultural requirements for machinery have
generated the growth of manufacturing units in urban areas. Many modern techniques of
agricultural development and many of the institutional frameworks for rural development also
generate from the urban centres.

1.6 Urbanisation Trends in India

1. British era – It witnessed de-industrialization and de-urbanization due to their thrust to Industrial
revolution in Europe only.
2. Post-Independence era - Urbanization in India began to accelerate after independence, due to the
country's adoption of a mixed economy, which gave rise to the development of the private sector.
3. Rise in urbanization figure - Population residing in urban areas in India, according to 1901 census,
was 11.4% and according to 2011 census it reached the mark of 31.16% that is nearly 40 crores.
4. Analysis of Urbanization within India - Among all the States and Union territories, Delhi and
Chandigarh are most urbanized with 97.5 percent and 97.25 percent urban population
respectively, followed by Daman and Diu (75.2 percent) and Puducherry (68.3 percent).
• Among States, Goa is most urbanised State with 62.2 percent urban population.
• Among the North-Eastern States, Mizoram is most urbanised with 51.5 per cent urban
population.
• Among major states, Tamil Nadu continues to be the most urbanized state with 48.4 percent of
the population living in urban areas followed now by Kerala (47.7 per cent) upstaging
Maharashtra (45.2 percent).
-The proportion of urban population continues to be the lowest in Himachal Pradesh with 10.0
per cent followed by Bihar with 11.3 percent, Assam (14.1 percent) and Orissa (16.7 percent).
• In terms of absolute number of persons living in urban areas, Maharashtra continues to lead
with 50.8 million persons which comprises 13.5 percent of the total urban population of the
country. Uttar Pradesh accounts for about 44.4 million, followed by Tamil Nadu at 34.9 million.
Having understood the trend of urbanization in India, the natural question of reasons of urbanization
arises, which are discussed below:

1.6.1 Specific Reasons of Urbanization in India since Independence

1. Industrialization - The government's creation of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in India
coincided with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. In response, industrial townships were
constructed to accommodate employees in close proximity to the factories and manufacturing
plants where they worked. After the success of the pioneering industrial township like Tata’s Steel
Town of Jamshedpur, Bhilai, Bokaro, Rourkela etc. urbanization had happened in India. Rural-urban
migration had happened in search of better economic opportunities.
2. Creation of new capital cities – The development of new capital cities, such as Chandigarh,
Gandhinagar, Bhubaneshwar, and the capital cities of northeastern states like Agartala and Kohima,
served as pivotal administrative centers.
3. Government Policies - Eleventh five-year plan that aimed at urbanisation for the economic
development of India.
4. Economic opportunities – This is just one of the major reason people move into the cities.
5. Special Economic Zones – This dot the landscape of India. Each of these zones is focused on a
particular sector such as IT, apparel and fashion, or petroleum and petrochemical industries. These
SEZs act as a nucleus of urban areas.
6. Liberation measure of 1991 - Urbanization in India is mainly due to liberalization of its economy
after the 1990s, which gave rise to the development of the private sector.
7. There are several factors at play that have led to the urbanization in India –
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 a) Population growth
b) Migration
Urbanization has created multiple problems in the country. One needs to understand the reasons
behind such problems, which are discussed below:

Concept Check
Q. Cities often spread out over the surrounding areas. The is called_________
a) Urban Spread
b) Urban Growth
c) Urban Sprawl
d) Urban Overflow
e) None of the above
Answer: C

Having understood the Indian scenario in particular, there is need to understand the problems
associated with urbanization, which is the trend across most of the developing countries.

1.7 Problems Associated with Urbanisation

The rapid Urbanization has brought in its wave a host of problems particularly for the government of the
developing countries. Although higher income is an added benefit to the urban dwellers, yet urban
poverty and unemployment and a host of problems associated with pollution and congestion are the
most noted indicators of urban failures. The various problems associated with Urbanization are
discussed below.

1.7.1 Urbanization and Health

The World Summit on Sustainable Development identified health as an integral component of
sustainable development and called for a more efficient, equitable, accessible, and appropriate health
care system for the population that rely on them.

1. Slums- Hub of health-related issues: Urban areas, particularly the slums are exposed to many
types of health problems because of unhealthy environment and poor living conditions.
• Overcrowded and congested housing in the urban slum areas expose the slum dwellers to high
rates of infectious diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and diarrhea.
• Besides, the overcrowding combined with poor sanitary conditions and inadequate waste
disposal creates conditions favorable to spread of infectious diseases.

2. Children and Women- At greater risk: People in general and children in particular are susceptible to
diseases when they are born and brought up in an environment characterized by overcrowding,
poor hygiene, excessive noise and lack of space for recreation and study.
• Moreover, like the children, women and particularly pregnant women are vulnerable to
environmental contaminants.
• Pregnant women’s exposure to filthy environment increases the risk of abortion, birth defects,
fetal growth, and perinatal death.
• Many studies have shown that exposing pregnant women to carbon monoxide can damage the
health of the fetus.
3. Common Diseases in Slum: Among the general population in the slum of the cities, some of the
diseases found occurring are HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis, yellow fever, and dengue.
• According to Trivedi, Sareen and Dhyani (2008) the range of disorders and deviances
associated with urbanization is enormous and includes psychosis, depression, sociopathy,
substance abuse, alcoholism, crime, delinquency, etc. Unfortunately, these adverse effects can
sometimes lead to drastic measures, potentially culminating in communal violence.

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 4. Observations of WHO: It has rightly remarked that “while urban living continues to offer many
opportunities, including potential access to better health care, today’s urban environments can
concentrate health risks and introduce new hazards,”

1.7.2 Urbanization and Education

1. Challenges in Affordability of Education: Although access to education is not a problem in urban
areas, affordability is a problem particularly for the urban poor. Education for urban poor is still a
luxury, particularly as far as the quality and higher education are concerned.
2. Concern of Education in Urban slums: Though Urbanization has boosted higher education in
metropolis and cities. However, education in the urban slum areas is still a concern.
3. Pressure on Educational Institutes: The migration of rural population to urban and semi-urban
areas has put tremendous pressure on educational infrastructure and manpower in urban areas.
4. Child Labour: Despite free education, children of urban poor families are found to be engaged in
income earning activities.

1.7.3 Urbanization and Sanitation

1. Poor Sanitation Infrastructure facilities: The urban sanitation is a big problem as the provision of
sanitation infrastructure is falling short of the growing population in urban areas.
2. State of Sanitation: Customarily, sanitation means safe disposal of waste. It is estimated that 40
million people reside in slums without adequate sanitation.
3. Absence of the drainage system: The drainage systems in many unorganized slums either do not
exist and if existing are in a bad shape and in bits resulting in blockage of wastewater. The open
drainage passing through the slum colonies deeply affects the health of the people.
4. Urban Garbage disposal: It is one of the critical garbage managements which has always remained
a major challenge before the municipal areas and administration. In mega cities, urban people in
general and children in particular suffer from many urban environment related health problems
because of exposure to unhygienic garbage disposal.

1.7.4 Urbanization and Housing Problem

1. Growth of Urban Slums: One of the key challenges of urbanization is to provide healthy housing to
urban population. However, the rising urban population has created serious housing problem, thus,
leading to growth of urban slums featured with poor housing.
2. Slum and Squatter Settlement: Excessive urbanization has created manifold problems such as the
haphazard growth of unauthorized housing colonies and slum and squatter settlements has become
a well know phenomenon in the metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmadabad, etc.
The unauthorized and squatter housing is astoundingly high in low income and lower middle-
income countries. The underdeveloped countries are unable to provide healthy housing to its
urban population particularly migrating from rural to urban areas.

1.7.5 Urbanization and Poverty

1. Poverty- An outgrowth of Urbanization: It is remarked that the most widely observed and acutely
felt urban problem in developing countries is the large number of poor and unemployed people in
the cities.
• As per NITI Aayog’s Report ‘National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023,
the urban areas in India saw a reduction in poverty from 8.65% to 5.27%.
• It has also noted that poverty-related problems such as overcrowding, hunger, disease, crime
and malnutrition are increasingly prevalent in cities of many countries both developing as well
as developed.
• Eradication of poverty from urban areas was a major challenge before the government. Thus,
urban poor constitute nearly 20 percent of urban population. Thus, unplanned urbanization has
escalated the size of urban poverty.

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 2. Urbanization of Poverty: Economic development and urbanization are closely correlated. For
example, in India, cities contribute 63 percent to country’s GDP. Therefore, for India, urbanization is
considered an important component of economic growth.
• However, on the other hand, it is interesting to note that the ratio of urban poverty in some of
the mega cities is even higher than the rural poverty which is termed as “Urbanization of
Poverty”.
• This urban poverty is a responsible factor for several problems in urban areas such as housing
and shelter, water, sanitation, health, education, social security and livelihood.

3. Sustainable Cities- Humongous Challenge: It has been rightly remarked that with growing poverty
and slums, Indian cities are grappling with the challenges of making the cities sustainable i.e.,
inclusive, productive, efficient, and manageable.

1.7.6 Urbanization and Unemployment

1. Employment – Challenge for the government: Generating employment for the increasing number
of urban populations is a challenge for the government. The urban underemployment and casual
employment are other problems which has resulted in poor quality of living among the urban poor.
2. Observations of ILO: The ILO has remarked that most urban unemployment in developing countries
takes the form of underemployment, in which people are obliged to undertake any available
economic activity, however, productive and unproductive, because there are no social-safety nets
and no alternatives in the form of unemployment insurance or job training in the formal sector.
• In sub-Saharan Africa, the urban informal sector is estimated to employ more than 60 percent
of the urban labour force at extremely low incomes.
• In Latin America and the Caribbean, 83 percent of all new jobs created between 1990-93 were
in the informal sector, the bulk of these jobs are poorly remunerated, unsafe and of low
productivity. The large majority of Latin America’s urban poor work in the informal sector.

1.7.7 Urbanization and Urban Administration

1. Unbridled urbanization can pose surmountable challenge before the administration and municipal
governance.
2. Problem for the authorities: Problems will arise as to organize new administrative structure and
manpower development, how to prevent uncontrolled expansion, how to organize transport and
communication system, how to finance public services, prepare master plans etc.
• Prioritizing the needs amidst socio-political pressure is a challenge before the district
administration.
• Besides civic problems, the urban administration has to tackle other problems which population
brings forth such as people resentments and disregarding rules and regulations, spoil public
and private property and showing utter disregard for the rights and feelings of fellow citizens.
• Other issues like illegal migration, trafficking, etc. can pose problems for urban administration.

1.8 Government Initiatives

The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
(MoHUPA) and the Town and Country Planning Organization (TCPO) will facilitate and support the
nationwide urban and regional development planning. These organizations place their efforts on spatial
planning for the improvement of the entire country.
1. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Housing for All (HFA) (Urban Mission) was launched in June 2015 to
provide housing to all in urban areas by 2022.
2. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)- launched with the objective to
provide hard infrastructure for universal coverage of piped drinking water, sewerage and green
spaces and parks. AMRUT also incentivizes governance reforms in the cities.

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3. Developing Smart Cities-Launched in June 2015, Smart Cities Mission aims at driving economic
growth and improving the quality of life through area-based development and city-level smart
solutions. The mission would convert 100 existing cities into smart cities
4. Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban)- Launched on 2nd October 2014; Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)
(Urban) is the key mission driving the campaign to make our cities clean. It includes elimination of
open defecation, conversion of unsanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, eradication of manual
scavenging, municipal solid waste management and bringing about a behavioral change in people
regarding healthy sanitation practices.
• Swachh Bharat Mission for Urban Areas 2.0: SBM-U 2.0 envisions to make all cities ‘Garbage
Free’ and ensure grey and black water management in all cities other than those covered under
AMRUT, make all urban local bodies as ODF+ and those with a population of less than 1 lakh as
ODF++, thereby achieving the vision of safe sanitation in urban areas. The Mission will focus on
source segregation of solid waste, utilizing the principles of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), scientific
processing of all types of municipal solid waste and remediation of legacy dumpsites for effective
solid waste management.
5. Deen Dayal Antodaya Yojana– National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY – NULM)-aims at creating
opportunities for skill development leading to market-based employment and helping the poor to
set up self-employment ventures. This Mission’s interventions are implemented through five key
components:
a) Social Mobilization and Institutional Development (SMID)
b) Self-Employment Programmes (SEPs)
c) Employment through Skill, Training & Placement (EST&P)
d) Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH) and
e) Support to Urban Street Vendors (SUSV).
6. National Heritage City Development & Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) Mission - This was
launched in January 2015 with an aim to rejuvenate the heritage cities, with special attention to
others issues such as sanitation, tourism, and livelihood. The Mission is targeted for completion by
November 2018. The HRIDAY mission will be concluded in 12 heritage cities as per the Detailed
Project Reports.
7. Urban transport - All the interventions in the urban transport by the Ministry of Urban
Development such as Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), urban transit infrastructure or financing of
metro rail projects etc. are carried out as per the provisions of National Urban Transport Policy,
2006.
8. Pooled Finance Development Fund Scheme - The Central Government launched the Pooled Finance
Development Fund (PFDF) Scheme to provide credit enhancement to ULBs to access market
borrowings based on their credit worthiness through State-Level-Pooled Finance Mechanism.
• The broad objectives of this scheme are to facilitate development of bankable urban
infrastructure projects; to facilitate Urban Local Bodies to access capital and financial markets
for investment in critical municipal infrastructure, to reduce the cost of borrowing to local
bodies and to facilitate development of Municipal Bond Market.
9. North Eastern Region Urban Development Programme (NERUDP) - The North Eastern Region
Urban Development Programme (NERUDP) Phase-I is being implemented by the Ministry of Urban
Development (MoUD) with the financial assistance from Asian Development Bank (ADB).
• It covers capital cities of 5 North Eastern States viz. Agartala (Tripura), Aizawl (Mizoram),
Gangtok (Sikkim), and Kohima (Nagaland). The project covers priority urban services viz.
(a) Water Supply,
(b) Sewerage and Sanitation, and
(c) Solid Waste Management.

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1.9 Way Forward
India needs to work on several areas to manage its unplanned urbanization: Inclusive cities, funding,
planning, capacity building and low-income housing. A political process must also be started where the
urban issues are debated with evolution of meaningful solutions:

1.9.1 Improved Governance

Governance forms an integral part of Urbanization. Governance is the weakest and most crucial link
which needs to be repaired to bring about the urban transformation so urgently needed in India.
Financing the large sums required to meet the investment needs of urban infrastructure is crucially
dependent on the reform of institutions and the capacity of those who run the institutions for service
delivery and revenue generation.

It is seen that large expenditures on Indian cities and towns have to be combined with better
governance structures, strong political and administrative will to collect taxes and user charges, and
improved capacity to deliver. Cities must be empowered, financially strengthened, and efficiently
governed to respond to the needs of their citizens and to contribute to the growth momentum.
Following are the areas where governance needs to be improved further:

1. Strengthening Municipalities: The municipal entities need to be strengthened as local governments

with ‛own’ sources of revenue, predictable formula-based transfers from state governments, and
other transfers from the Government of India and state governments to help them discharge the
larger responsibilities assigned to them by the 74th Constitutional Amendment.
• Improved tax revenues combined with rational user charges will enable cities to leverage their
own resources to incur debt and also access new forms of financing through public private
partnership (PPP).
• NITI Aayog’s suggestions are also on the same line, A well-run ULBs should have the power to
raise financial resources including through municipal bonds. Indian cities also need to overhaul
their municipal staffing and introduce appropriate skills to achieve administrative efficiency
2. Creation of Waste to Energy plants: To speed up the process of cleaning up municipal solid waste,
NITI Aayog suggests the creation of an authority at the Centre to spread the use of Waste to Energy
plants. Such an authority may be called Waste to Energy Corporation of India (WECI) and placed
under the Ministry of Urban Development.
• WECI may set up world class Waste to Energy plants through PPP across the country. It can play a
key role in fast-tracking coverage of waste to energy plants across 100 smart cities by 2019.
3. Strict enforcement of traffic rules: It can be done through fines in case of violations. It will induce
behavioural change and could greatly reduce both the travel time and pollution.
• Facilitating new age technology cab aggregators: Incentives may be created to encourage
vehicle-sharing systems such as Ola and Uber. This will reduce the number of vehicles on the
road reducing both congestion and pollution.
4. National metro rail policy: It will ensure that metro projects are not considered in isolation, but as
part of a comprehensive plan of overall public transportation. Further, the policy should provide
clear guidelines on various aspects of metro projects, such as planning, financing, PPP, etc.

1.9.2 Inclusive Cities

Mainstreaming of poor and lower Income groups: The poor and lower income groups must be brought
into the mainstream in cities. The planning should be such that it includes the needs of the marginalized
sections including their residence, health, water, transportation, and other amenities at affordable
prices.

1.9.3 Financing
Devolution has to be supported by more reforms in urban financing that will reduce cities’ dependence
on the Centre and the states and unleash internal revenue sources.

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 • Consistent with most international examples, there are several sources of funding that Indian cities
could tap into, to a far greater extent than today, which are monetizing land assets; higher
collection of property taxes, user charges that reflect costs; debt and public-private partnerships
(PPPs); and central/state government funding.
• However, internal funding alone will not be enough, even in large cities. A portion has to come from
the central and state governments

1.9.4 Planning
• India needs to make urban planning a central, respected function, investing in skilled people, and
innovative urban form. This can be done through a “cascaded” planning structure in which large
cities have 40-year and 20-year plans at the metropolitan level that are binding on municipal
development plans.
• Central to planning in any city is the optimal allocation of space, especially land use and Floor Area
Ratio (FAR) planning. Both should focus on linking public transportation with zoning for affordable
houses for low-income groups. These plans need to be detailed, comprehensive, and enforceable.

1.9.5 Local capacity building

• A real step-up in the capabilities and expertise of urban local bodies will be critical to devolution
and improvement of service delivery. Reforms will have to address the development of
professional managers for urban management functions, who are in short supply and will be
required in large numbers.
• New innovative approaches will have to be explored to tap into the expertise available in the
private and social sectors. India needs to build technical and managerial depth in its city
administrations. Like Indian Civil Services, an equivalent cadre for cities can be created, as well as
allow for lateral entry of private-sector executives.

1.9.6 Affordable housing

Bridge the gap between Price and affordability: Affordable housing is a particularly critical concern for
low-income groups—in the absence of a viable model that caters to their needs, India can meet the
challenge through a set of policies and incentives that will bridge the gap between price and
affordability.
• This will enable a sustainable and economically viable affordable housing model for both
government housing agencies as well as private developers. India also needs to encourage rental
housing as an option particularly for the poorest of the poor, who may not be able to afford a home
even with these incentives.

1.9.7 Sustainable Urban Development

1. The report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED): It envisaged that
sustainable development has now assumed a broader significance as a process of change in which
the use of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development
and institutional changes must all contribute to enhancing the quality of human life, today as well
as tomorrow, within the carrying capacity of supporting economic systems.
• It broadly emphasizes on the establishment of a condition of ecological and economic stability
that is sustainable far into the future.
• WCED declared that “all human beings have the fundamental right to an environment
adequate for their health and well-being. There has to be sustainable development which will
be durable and beneficial to the present and future generation.” Sustainable Urban
Development must be the aim of all developing countries.
2. The United Nations Environment Programme and its partners have been persuading the nations of
the short and long-term benefits to be gained from the sound environmental management of
natural resources.

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3. The UNCHS (United Nations Conference on Human Settlement) defined sustainable city is a city
“where achievements in social, economic and physical development are made to last”.
4. Importance of Sustainable Development: Sustainable urban development is important because
urban areas now a days contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Product. They contribute
increasingly to exports and are rich places for capital formation.
• A Sustainable city has lasting supply of the natural resources on which its development depends
and a lasting security from environmental hazards which may threaten development
achievements.
• Cities offer quality education and health care; arts and science; technology and innovation and
transport and communication.

2 Migration
In layman’s language, the word ‘migration’ refers to the movement of people from one place to
another.

• Definition: According to Demographic Dictionary, “migration is a form of geographical mobility or

spatial mobility between one geographical unit and another, generally involving a change in
residence from the place of origin or place of departure to the place of destination or place of
arrival, for a considerable period of time.”
• Migration- In the social sense: It refers to the physical transition of an individual or a group from
one society to another. This transition usually involves abandoning one social-setting and entering
another and different one.
• Constitutional Provisions for migration: The Constitution of India guarantees freedom of movement
for all citizens.
➢ The foundational principles of free migration are enshrined in clauses (d) and (e) of Article 19(1)
of the Constitution, which guarantee all citizens the right to move freely throughout the territory
of India and reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.
➢ Article 15 prohibits discrimination on the basis of place of birth, among other grounds, while
Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment,
and in particular prohibits the denial of access to public employment on the grounds of place of
birth or residence.
There are various forms of migration emerging from the definition which are discussed below.

2.1 Forms of Migration

1. People may move within a country
between different states or between
different districts of the same state or
they may move between different
countries. Therefore, different terms are
used for internal and external migration.
2. Internal migration refers to migration
from one place to another within the country, while external migration or international migration
refers to migration from one country to another.

2.1.1 Immigration and Emigration

‘Immigration’ refers to migration into a country from another country and ‘emigration’ refers to
migration out of the country. These terms are used only in connection with international migration. For
example, migrants leaving India to settle down in the United States or Canada are immigrants to the
United States or Canada and emigrants from India.

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2.1.2 In-migration and Out-migration
1. These are used only in connection with internal migration. ‘In-migration’ refers to migration into a
particular area while ‘out-migration’ refers to movements out of a particular area. Thus, migrants
who come from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh to Punjab are considered to be in-migrants for Punjab and
out-migrants for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
2. The term ‘in-migration’ is used with reference to the area of destination of the migrants and the
term ‘out-migration’ is used with reference to the area of origin or place of departure of the
migrant.

2.1.3 Typology based on time

• It classifies migration into long range migration and short range or seasonal migration. When a
move is made for a longer period, it is called long range migration. However, when there is
permanent shift of population from one region to another, it is known as permanent migration.
• But when people shift to the sites of temporary work and residence for some or several months, it
is known as periodic or seasonal migration. For example, during peak agricultural season excess
labour is required, and people from the neighbouring areas go to these places for seasonal work.
• Apart from these two important types, migration could be voluntary or involuntary or forced, brain
drain (migration of young skilled persons) and migration of refugees and displaced persons.

2.1.4 Forms of Internal Migration in India

1. Classification of Migrants: In India, the migrants are classified into four migration streams, namely,
I. Rural to Rural,
II. Rural to Urban,
III. Urban to Urban and
IV. Urban to Rural.
• Rural to rural migration has formed the dominant migration stream since 1961. There have been
substantial increases in the proportion of rural to urban, and urban to urban migration with the
passage of time.
• Another important point is that the proportion of the females is much higher in rural-to-rural
migration, while in the other three streams the proportion of the males is comparatively much
higher. This is simply because the females change their residence on getting married, and new
places could be in the neighbouring districts.
• However, there have been substantial increases in the proportion of rural to urban and urban to
urban migration with the passage of time, the increase being much more during the decades of
1970s, 1980s and 1990s than of the 1960s.

2.2 Reasons For Migration

The important factors which cause migration, or which motivate people to move may broadly be
classified into four categories: economic factors, socio-cultural factors, and political factors and
environmental factors.

2.2.1 Economic factors

The most important economic factors that motivate migration may be termed as ‘Push Factors’ and ‘Pull
Factors’. In other words, it is to see whether people migrate because of the compelling circumstances at
the place of origin which pushed them out, or whether they are lured by the attractive conditions in the
new place.

a) Push Factors
The push factors are those that compel or force a person, due to various reasons, to leave that
place and go to some other place. For example, adverse economic conditions caused by poverty,
low productivity, unemployment, exhaustion of natural resources, lack of basic infrastructural

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 facilities like healthcare, education, etc. and natural calamities may compel people to leave their
native place in search of better economic opportunities.
• Low agricultural productivity - The
main push factor causing the
worker to leave agriculture is the
lower levels of income, as income
in agriculture is generally lower
than the other sectors of the
economy.
• Increase in population - Due to
rapid increase in population, the
per capita availability of cultivable
land has declined, and the numbers
of the unemployed and the underemployed in the rural areas have significantly increased with
the result that the rural people are being pushed to the urban areas.
• Lack of alternative source of income - The non-availability of alternative sources of income in
the rural area is also another factor for migration.
• Age old practices related to division of property - In addition to this, the existence of the joint
family system and laws of inheritance, which do not permit the division of property, may also
cause many young men to migrate to cities in search of jobs. Even subdivision of holdings leads
to migration, as the holdings become too small to support a family.
b) Pull Factors
Pull factors refer to those factors which attract the migrants to an area, such as, opportunities for
better employment, availability of regular work, higher wages, better working conditions and better
amenities of life, etc.
• Higher standard of living – People migrate from rural to urban area for better employment
opportunities, higher wages and better amenities of life, variety of occupations to choose from
and the possibility of attaining higher standard of living.
• Cultural and entertainment activities - Sometimes the migrants are also attracted to cities in
search of better cultural and entertainment activities or bright city lights.
c) Push Back Factors
In India, and in some other developing countries also, another important factor which plays crucial
role in migration is ‘push back factor’.
• In India, the urban labour force is sizeable, and the urban unemployment rates are high, and
there also existing pool of underemployed persons.
• All these factors act in combination as deterrents to the fresh flow of migration from the rural to
urban areas. He calls this as a ‘push back factor’.
• He further adds that if new employment opportunities are created in the urban areas, the first
persons to offer themselves for employment are the marginally employed already residing in
those areas, unless of course special skills are required.

2.2.2 Socio-Cultural Factors

Besides push and pull factors, social and cultural factors also play an important role in migration.
• Family conflicts - Sometimes family conflicts also cause migration. This can be seen much in rural
areas where system of joint families prevails.
• Improved communication facilities - such as, transportation, impact of the radio and the
television, the cinema, the urban-oriented education and resultant change in attitudes and
values also promote migration.
• Marriage: It is an important social factor for migration. As observed by Census 2001, in case of
intra-state migrant’s majority of the migration is from one rural area to another, due to marriage
in case of females.
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2.2.3 Political factors
They either encourage or discourage migration. For instance, in our country, the adoption of the jobs
for ‘sons of the soil’ policy by the State governments will certainly affect the migration from other
states.
• The rise of Shiv-Sena in Bombay, with its hatred for the migrants and the occasional eruption of
violence in the name of local parochial patriotism, is a significant phenomenon. Even in Calcutta,
the Bengali-Marwari conflict will have far-reaching implications. And now Assam and Tamil Nadu
are other such examples.
• Thus, the political attitudes and outlook of the people also influence migration to a great extent.
There have also been migrations from Kashmir and Punjab because of the terrorist activities.

2.2.4 Environmental factors

• There are migrants who are forced to move from rural to urban areas as a result of an
environmental disaster that might have destroyed their homes and farms.
• People are also forced to migrate from their traditional habitats due to gradual deterioration of
changing environmental conditions.

Having understood the reasons for migration, one needs to understand the consequences of migration
which are discussed below.

2.3 Consequences Of Migration

Migration is a response to the uneven distribution of opportunities over space. People tend to move
from place of low opportunity and low safety to the place of higher opportunity and better safety. This,
in turn, creates both benefits and problems for the areas, people migrate from and migrate to.
Consequences can be observed in economic, social, psychological, environmental, political, and
demographic terms. However, some of the important consequences discussed in this unit are economic,
demographic, social and psychological. These consequences are both positive as well as negative. Some
of these affect the place of departure while others influence the place of destination.

2.3.1 Economic Consequence

Impact on Source and destination regions
1. Widens the development disparity: There is a view that migration negatively affects the emigrating
region and favours the immigrating region, and that migration would widen the development
disparity between the regions, because of the drain of the resourceful persons from the relatively
underdeveloped region to the more developed region.
• But the exodus of the more enterprising members of a community cannot be considered a loss, if
there is lack of alternative opportunities in the emigrating areas. As long as migration draws
upon the surplus labour, it would help the emigrating region. It will have adverse effects only if
human resources are drained away at the cost of the development of the region.
2. Rise in per capita income: Another important point is that when migration draws away the
unemployed or underemployed, it would enable the remaining population of the region to improve
their living conditions as this would enable the remaining population to increase the per capita
consumption, since the total number of mouths to be fed into is reduced as a result of emigration.
3. Remittances benefit the source region: A major benefit for the source region is the remittance sent
by migrants. Remittances from the international migrants are one of the major sources of foreign
exchange.
• Remittances in the 80s were mainly driven by the economic prosperity in the oil exporting
countries. The policies of liberalization during the 90s led to a lot of Indian information
technology professionals migrating to the US for better opportunities, thus leading to an increase
in remittances.

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 • The amount of remittances sent by the internal migrants is very meager as compared to
international migrants, but it plays an important role in the growth of economy of the source
area.
• Remittances are mainly used for food, repayment of debts, treatment, marriages, children’s
education, agricultural inputs, construction of houses, etc.
• For thousands of the poor villages of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal
Pradesh, etc. internal remittance works as life blood for their economy.
• Migration from rural areas of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa to the
rural areas of Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh accounted for the success of their
Green Revolution strategy for agricultural development.
• Besides this, unregulated migration to the metropolitan cities of India has caused
overcrowding. Development of slums in industrially developed states such as Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi are a negative consequence of unregulated migration
within the country.

Impact on migrants
Job mismatch, labour market discrimination, unemployment and poor household income, poverty,
precarious work conditions, occupation, industry, and property ownership are areas of concern for the
migrant population.
Employment discrimination can result in differences in accessing particular occupations and can also
lead to differences in pay between those employed in the same occupation.

2.3.2 Demographic Consequences

Impact on Source and Destination Regions

Imbalance in age and sex Composition: Migration leads to the redistribution of the population within a
country. Rural urban migration is one of the important factors contributing to the population growth of
cities. Age and skill selective out migration from the rural area have adverse effect on the rural
demographic structure.
• However, high out migration from Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Eastern
Maharashtra have brought serious imbalances in age and sex composition in these states. Similar
imbalances are also brought in the recipient’s states.
• Cause of imbalance in sex ratio in the place of origin and destination of the migrants: Migration of
the unmarried males of young working age results in imbalances in sex ratio.
➢ The absence of many young men from the villages increases the proportion of other groups, such
as, women, children, and old people. This tends to reduce the birth rate in the rural areas.
➢ Further the separation of the rural male migrants from their wives for long durations also tends
to reduce the birth rate.

2.3.3 Social and Psychological Consequences

Impact on Source and destination regions
Migrants act as agents of social change: The new ideas related to new technologies, family planning,
girl’s education, etc. get diffused from urban to rural areas through them. Migration leads to intermixing
of people from diverse cultures.
• It has positive contribution such as evolution of composite culture and breaking through the narrow
considerations and widens up the mental horizon of the people at large.

Impact on migrants
1. Transmission of Urban life: Those migrants who return occasionally or remain in direct or indirect
contact with the households of their origin are also likely to transmit some new ideas back to the
areas of origin.

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 ➢ There is technological change to the dynamism of the return migrants, who bring money as well
as knowledge and experience of different production techniques, and this may lead to
mechanization and commercialization of agricultural activity.
➢ Ex- A number of ex-servicemen, on retirement go back to their native areas and promote such
practices in the villages.
2. Attitudinal change among migrants: Contact with the urban and different cultures also brings
attitudinal change in the migrants, and helps them to develop more modern orientation, including
even the consumerist culture in their own areas.
3. Negative Consequences: Migration also has serious negative consequences such as anonymity,
which creates social vacuum and sense of dejection among individuals. Continued feeling of
dejection may motivate people to fall in the trap of anti-social activities like crime and drug abuse.
4. Impact on Women: Migration (even excluding the marriage migration) affects the status of women
directly or indirectly.
• In the rural areas, male selective out migration leaving their wives behind puts extra physical as
well mental pressure on the women.
• Migration of ‘women’ either for education or employment enhances their autonomy and role in
the economy but also increases their vulnerability.

2.4 Migration and Inequality

1. Inequality -Reason for migration: The major cause of rural-urban migration is the inequality among
the people, based on the interpersonal and inter-household inequality within and between
villages. The inequalities within sending areas are also crucial in generating migration - more
unequal villages send more migrants.
2. Vicious cycle of Inequality: Migrants come from the most productive age groups and as a result,
unequal power structures within villages go unchallenged. Migrants from wealthier backgrounds
also do better. These facts ensure that migration enhances inequality.
3. Migration’s impact on inequality: Based on the range of different types of migration, and the varied
economic, social, cultural, and political contexts within which migration occurs, it is difficult to draw
any overarching conclusions about its impact on inequality.
4. Definition of inequality: Inequality needs to be defined in broader terms than simply income or
wealth. Inequality, like poverty, is multi-dimensional, and can be measured at individual, household,
regional and international levels.
• There are socio-cultural dimensions to inequality, as well as inequalities in access to power. All
aspects of inequality are highly gendered.
• In other terms inequality is the role played by a variety of political, economic and social-cultural
institutions, since these are often crucial to the ways in which wealth, power and opportunity are
distributed within societies.
5. Inequality is clearly a major driver of migration: Indeed, international migration is a powerful
symbol of global inequality, whether in terms of wages, labour market opportunities or lifestyles.
• Millions of workers and their families move each year across borders and continents, seeking to
reduce what they see as the gap between their own position and that of people in other,
wealthier, places.
• It is not just inequality between sending and receiving areas that promotes migration. Inequality
within sending areas can also generate migration, since more unequal villages tend to produce
more migrants than less unequal villages.
6. Advantages of Migration: Migration brought more than simply money, in the form of remittances;
it also brought with it ‘cultural capital’ and social prestige. In turn, remittances were also fed into
other areas of life, with a wider impact on political, social, and economic power.
• The conspicuous consumption of foreign goods, while being the principal differentiation in the
village between migrant and non-migrant households also.

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Migrant workers faced surmountable challenges during the pandemic induced lockdown, which is
discussed in details below.

2.5 COVID-19 induced Migration Crisis in India

1. India has been in lock down since March 25, 2020. During this time, the activities of production and
supply of goods and services are on the lower side of growth.
2. The lock down has severely impacted migrants, several of whom lost their jobs due to shutting of
industries and were stranded outside their native places wanting to get back.
3. As per the 2011 census, there were 21 crore rural-rural migrants which formed 54% of classifiable
internal migration. Rural-urban and urban-urban movement accounted for around 8 crore migrants
each. There were around 3 crore urban-rural migrants (7% of classifiable internal migration).
4. Another way to classify migration is: (i) intra-state, and (ii) inter-state. In 2011, intra-state
movement accounted for almost 88% of all internal migration (39.6 crore persons). According to the
2011 Census, there were 5.4 crore inter-state migrants. As of 2011, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were
the largest source of inter-state migrants while Maharashtra and Delhi were the largest receiver
states.

2.6 India’s Internal Migration

1. Huge Numbers: India has an estimated 600 million migrants. In other words, roughly half of India is
living in a place where it wasn’t born.
2. Intra-State Migration: An estimated 400 million Indians “migrate” within the district they live in.
The next 140 million migrate from one district to another but within the same state.
3. Inter-State Migration: And only about 60 million — that is, just 10% of all internal migrants — move
from one state to another.
4. Rural Migration: The most dominant form of migration is from rural-to-rural areas. Only about 20%
of the total migration (600 million) is from rural to urban areas.
5. Urban Migration: 20% of the total migration is from one urban area to another urban area. As such,
urban migration (rural to urban as well as urban to urban) accounts for 40% of the total migration.
6. Potential for increase in future: As India adopts a strategy of rapid urbanisation — for example, by
building so-called smart cities and essentially using cities as centres of economic growth — levels of
internal migration will increase further.
7. COVID-19 induced Shock: It is estimated that close to 60 million moved back to their “source” rural
areas in the wake of pandemic-induced lockdowns. That number is roughly six-times the official
estimates. That estimate also gives a measure of the sense of labour shock that India’s economy
faced as migrants moved back. 200 million were broadly affected by the Covid disruption.
8. The worst-hit were “vulnerable circular migrants”. These are “vulnerable” people because of their
weak position in the job market and “circular” migrants because even though they work in urban
settings, they continue to have a foothold in the rural areas. Such migrants work in construction
sites or small factories or as rickshaw pullers in the city but when such employment avenues
dwindle, they go back to their rural setting. They constitute 75% of the informal economy outside
agriculture — most shocks, be it demonetisation or GST or the pandemic disruption, tend to rob
them of their livelihood.

2.7 Measures taken by the government to aid migrants

2.7.1 Transport
• The central government authorized states to use the State Disaster Response Fund to provide
accommodation to traveling migrants.
• States were advised to set up relief camps along highways with medical facilities to ensure people
stay in these camps while the lock down is in place.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs allowed states to co-ordinate individually to transport migrants using
buses.
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• The Indian Railways resumed passenger movement with Shramik Special trains to facilitate
movement of migrants stranded outside their home state.

2.7.2 Food distribution

• The Ministry of Health and Family Affairs directed state governments to operate relief camps for
migrant workers with arrangements for food, sanitation, and medical services.
• Under the 2nd Tranche of Atma-Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, the finance minister announced that
free food grains would be provided to migrant workers who do not have a ration card for two
months.
• The finance minister also announced that One Nation One Ration card will be implemented by
March 2021, to provide portable benefits under the PDS.

2.7.3 Housing
• The Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan also launched a scheme for Affordable Rental Housing
Complexes for Migrant Workers and Urban Poor to provide affordable rental housing units under
PMAY.
• The scheme proposes to use existing housing stock under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
Housing Mission (JnNURM) as well as incentivise public and private agencies to construct new
affordable units for rent.
• Further, additional funds have been allocated for the credit linked subsidy scheme under PMAY for
middle income group.

2.7.4 Financial aid

• Some state governments (like Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh) announced one-time cash
transfers for returning migrant workers.
• Example: UP government announced provision of maintenance allowance of Rs 1,000 for returning
migrants.

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