Issues of Internal Migration in India: An Overview

Abstract

Migration arises due to socio-economic, political reasons. It is the movement of individuals for better opportunities and growth in terms of economic strength, access to medical facilities, education, or political stability. Migrant workers are widespread across the country and often engage themselves in the informal sector due to their weak education background and economic backwardness. These informal sector workers are engaged in works of low-paying or perilous jobs in crucial sectors in urban areas like the manufacturing industries, construction, hotel industry, textiles, transportation, domestic workers, etc. According to the Economic Survey of India,2017, India's inter-state migration during 2011-16 was about 9 million annually and as per the Census2011 report, the internal migrants(including intra and interstate migrants) was around 139 million. This paper is an attempt to present an overview about migration, issues of Internal migration, IMPEX as a tool to understand the inter-state migrant policies and the way ahead for migrant workers to augment in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals designed by the United Nations.