National Workshop on Internal Migration and Human Development in India Vol.1 - Workshop Report

FOCUS

Workshop Report, 2012 - UNESCO/UNICEF National Workshop on Internal Migration and Human Development in India, 6–7 December 2011:
Volume 1 of the Workshop Compendium captures the meaningful dialogue on internal migration that occurred during the workshop, outlining key debates and major results, and covering the deliberations of the thematic sessions. In particular, it provides policy recommendations to protect and promote migrants’ access to social services, but also to enable migrants to become socially and politically active citizens.

    FACTOIDS

  1. As per the 2001 Census, the total number of internal migrants was 309 million or nearly 30 per cent of the total population.

  2. Two thirds of the migrants (67.2 per cent) were rural migrants and 32.8per cent were urban migrants. Of these migrants 70 % were women. 

  3. Estimates based on official statistics from the NSS show a magnitude of 14 to 15 million seasonal and temporary migrants.

  4. Dominated by the most poor and deprived sections of the society like the SCs, STs and the OBCs.

  5. Distressed migration is caused by floods, droughts.  It is temporary and seasonal and may also be poverty induced.

  6. Forced migration has been defined as the displacement of people from their habitats forcibly, for example: because a dam was being built and the area around where the people lived had to be cleared, forcing them to migrate.

  7. About one-third of the out-migrants were employed in the construction industry, followed by agriculture (20.4 per cent) and manufacturing (15.9 per cent).

  8. No specific reference made to the issue of migration in the documents of the 11th Five- Year Plan and the draft of the 12th Five-Year Plan.

  9. 62 per cent of children are left behind by parents when they migrate. About one third of the children of migrant workers are unable to attend school.

  10. Migrant children suffer from measles, malnutrition and disease due to lack of immunisation because of low-income, uncertain jobs. 

  11. According to NFHS, the prevalence of HIV infections among migrant men was 0.55 per cent compared with 0.29 per cent among non-migrant men.

  12. Women migrate primarily when they get married to the place where the husband lives and as companions for male migrants for employment purposes.

  13. Government entitled social security programmes related to food, education, and housing- led to denial of rights to migrants as they do not have identity and residential proof of the destination.

  14. Migrants are 6 times more likely to get tuberculosis that normal population.

  15. The registration for Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) is applied only to the BPL categories of households at the place of origin. 

  16. Migrants at the place of destination in most cases are neither able to reap the benefits of health insurance schemes nor are they provided with health insurance by their employers.

  17. There are no specific laws except the Inter-state Migrant Workmen‘s Act (1979) for regulating the conditions of migrants. This law, however, is poorly implemented.

  18. The National Coalition for the Security of Migrant Workers, a coalition of over 20 organizations working with migrant workers, has signed an MOU with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to work on various issues for the inclusion of migrant workers in the Aadhaar scheme.

  19. Many migrants are not able to vote as their names are not included in the voter list at the place of destination.

AUTHOR

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

COPYRIGHT

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

PUBLICATION DATE

31 Dec, 2011

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