The government has proposed to conduct a “survey on migration” from July 2026 to June 2027, to generate reliable estimates on the phenomenon, reasons for people moving out of their habitats and short-term migration trends.
The survey is expected to provide comprehensive estimates on migration patterns which will be instrumental in understanding labour mobility, urbanisation trends, remittance flows, and the social and economic integration of migrant populations, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The NSO said the results of the pan-India survey will highlight the districts and states with highest migration. It will also provide details of migration out of the country.
This will be a detailed survey on migration after the 64th round of National Sample Survey (NSS) (2007-08) which included both migration and employment-unemployment characteristics for all household members. The NSO has proposed several changes over the 64th round of NSS. The forthcoming survey will not collect information on household migration, given the very low incidence of such migration.
The NSO has also proposed to revise the reference period for short-term migration from “one month or more but less than six months” to “15 days or more but less than six months”. The survey will ask additional questions such as change in income, improvement in housing, health, education etc. due to migration.
Questions like any problem faced at the current place due to migration and type of problem also proposed. Details will also be taken regarding remittances and the economic activities in which the migrant is involved.
The MoSPI on Thursday released a draft schedule for wider consultation and invited stakeholders’ feedback by November 30.
The recent data on migration was collected through the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2020-21 and Multiple Indicator Survey (2020-21).