Contrary to the general belief that migrants are poor people who shift base to overcome poverty, a government report said that migrants are relatively better-off people.
Contrary to the general belief that migrants are poor people who shift base to overcome poverty, a government report said that migrants are relatively better-off people who do not add to poverty of the city they move to but contribute to its prosperity.
The India Urban Poverty Report 2009 brought out by ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation (HUPA) jointly with the United Nations Development Programme, revealed that rural migrants into urban areas had lower probability of being poor than the local population.
The report said that influx of migrants to metropolitan cities indicated that economic reforms have not been able to create much employment opportunities in small and medium towns and in rural areas. Hence, migration towards bigger cities will continue.
Migration within India increased remarkably in 2001 as compared to the consistent decline during 1961-1991. The inter-state analysis showed that migration from rural-to-urban areas had increased whereas urban-to-urban migration declined. The economic motive was the main reason for migration. Economically backward states kept losing people to developed states.
Still, according to the report, the relationship between poverty and migration was not clearly established yet. It was observed that migrants had higher monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) compared to non-migrants suggesting that households from higher-income groups had a higher propensity to migrate than those from lower income groups.
Since metropolitan cities provide better economic opportunities, the number of migrants there is more. Mumbai topped the list of metropolitan cities where highest number of male migrants were working in regular and salaried jobs, followed by Thane. More than half of the migrants employed as regular workers in Vadodra, Jaipur, Bangalore, Delhi and Howrah too are males.
The average MPCE in urban areas for male migrants was found to be Rs 964 while it was Rs 740 for non-migrants.
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