Context: In this episode of the Perspective Prog. based on Human Migration: Reasons & Impact. Human migration and mobility is an age-old phenomena touching almost every society around the world. 

• However things have changed over time in various ways. Examining the shifts in scale, direction, demography and frequency can help us understand how migration is evolving and can further lead to effective policies, programmes and operational responses on the ground. 
• A broad range of factors continue to determine the movement of people. They are either voluntary or forced movements as a result of the increased magnitude and frequency of disasters, economic challenges and extreme poverty or conflict. 
• Approximately 281 million people were international migrants in 2020, representing 3.6 per cent of the global population. The theme for this year's International Migrants Day is ' Harnessing the potential of Human Mobility'. 
• In fact, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes for the first time the contribution of migration to sustainable development. 11 out of the 17 SDGs contain targets and indicators relevant to migration or mobility.

Human Migration

• Human migration is the movement of people from one place in the world to another.
• People can either choose to move (voluntary migration) or be forced to move (involuntary migration).
• The International Organization for Migration (The United Nations Migration Agency) defines a migrant as any person who is moving or has moved across an international border or within a state away from his/her habitual place of residence, regardless of :

Person’s legal status

• Whether the movement is voluntary or involuntary
• What the causes for the movement are
• What the length of the stay is

Factors
Migration is a global phenomenon caused not only by economic factors but many other factors like social, political, cultural, environmental, health, education are included under the broader classification of Push and Pull factors of migration:

• Push Factor: Push factors are those that compel a person, due to different reasons, to leave a place of origin (out-migration) and migrate to some other place.
• Pull Factor: Pull factors indicate the factors which attract migrant (in-migration) to an area (destination).

Types: Internal migration in India is primarily of two types:

• Long term Migration, resulting in the relocation of an individual or household.
• Short term Migration, involving back and forth movement between a source and destination.

Key Source States: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh.

Key Destination States: Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and Karnataka.

• Internal Migrants in India constitute a large population of 309 million internal migrants or 30 percent of the population (Census of India 2001).

When a person is enumerated in the census at a different place than his / her place of birth, she/he is considered a migrant.

• Female Migration: Out of the total internal migrants, 70.7 percent are women (Census of India 2001) and marriage is one of the major reasons for female migration in both the rural and urban areas.
• Male Migration: Migration for employment-related reasons is one of the prominent reasons for male migration in both rural and urban areas.
• Employing Sectors: Migrants are mostly employed in subsectors like construction, domestic work, textile, brick-kilns, transportation, mines, quarries, and agriculture.
• Urbanization: Rates of urbanization influence rural-urban wage differences and an increase in the demand for labor in urban areas can push up urban wages and increase migration.

External Migration
External migration in India can broadly be classified as:

• Emigration from India to various parts of the world.
• Immigration of people from different countries to India.
• Refugee Migration: There had also been a significant trend of an involuntary or forced immigration to India in the form of refugees.

Advantage of Migration (Indian Scenario Globally)

• Migrants of all skill levels considerably contribute to societies. They spawn creativity, nourish the human spirit and spur economic growth. They bring diversity, provide innovation and bring about economic development and growth in the host societies.
• The primary motivation for migration is economic and at the heart of migration, management is imperative to maximize the development impact of international migration for all.
• India exemplifies the strengths of a large, tolerant, secular, live democracy with a pluralistic society in which people of different faiths, languages, ethnicity and political persuasions co-exist and thrive. Indeed, this milieu is the ‘sine qua non’ of any society that can create conditions for positive migratory movements and labour mobility for the benefit of all.
• This places India in a position to help contribute to the international community’s efforts to develop an appropriate world migration strategy.

Negative Impact

• Demographic Profile: Emigration in large numbers can alter demographic profiles of communities, as most of the young men move out, leaving only the women and elderly to work on the land.
• Political Exclusion: Migrant workers are deprived of many opportunities to exercise their political rights like the right to vote.
• Population Explosion and the Influx of workers in the place of destination increases competition for the job, houses, school facilities etc and a large population puts too much pressure on natural resources, amenities, and services.
• Illiterate and Underskilled Migrants are not only unfit for most jobs, because of a lack of basic knowledge and life skills but are also prone to the victimization of exploitation, trafficking, psychological abuse, and gender-based violence in the case of female migrants.
• Increased Slum: Mass Migration results into an increase in slum areas, compromising quality of infrastructure and life at the destination, which further translates into many other problems such as unhygienic conditions, crime, pollution, etc.
• Brain Drain: Source state suffers from the loss of human capital.

Road Ahead

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has highlighted that the policies and programs facilitating the integration of migrants at the destination remain weak at best or non-existent and suggested the inclusion and integration of migrants in development.
• Hence India needs to formulate migration centric policies, strategies, and institutional mechanisms in order to ensure inclusive growth and development and reduce distress induced migration, thereby increasing India’s prospects for poverty reduction and achieving Sustainable Development Goals.