Migration and Reverse Migration: Rehabilitation Policy
Geography › Urbanization, Settlements and Migration · Topic 10.6
Reverse migration is the return of migrants from the place of work to their place of origin, as happened on a very large scale during the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, when millions of urban workers went home to villages in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and other states. It exposed the weak protection of migrant workers and led to measures such as the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan, One Nation One Ration Card and the e-Shram portal. Rehabilitation policy provides for the resettlement of people displaced by projects, under the Act of 2013.
7 min read · UPSC Prelims · Geography · Urbanization, Settlements and Migration
At a Glance
- Event COVID-19 lockdown, 25 March 2020
- Receiving states Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha
- Schemes Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan, e-Shram, ONORC
- R&R law Act of 2013
- Earlier law Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Geography: Urbanization, Settlements and Migration
Where Does It Fit?
This topic follows the topics on urban poverty and inclusive cities and takes up the migrants who bear the brunt of both. It also deals with the policy of rehabilitation for people displaced by projects, which is another form of forced movement. Previous topic: Inclusive and Smart Cities: Development and Government Initiatives. Next topic: Types of Urban Settlements and the Urban Growth Process.
What Are the Challenges for Migrant Workers in India?
- Informality: most migrants work in construction, brick kilns, domestic work, hotels and small factories without a written contract, secure housing or social security.
- Lack of portability: entitlements such as ration cards, health insurance, school admission for children and voting rights are often linked to the home place.
- Visibility: the national lockdown of March 2020 exposed the lack of data and support for millions who were stranded far from home, and many travelled long distances on foot.
- Urban slums: the poor migrants live in informal settlements without water or sanitation, as in Patterns of Rural Settlement and Factors Affecting Them.
Government responses include the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act of 1979, now folded into the labour codes; the e-Shram portal, launched in 2021 to register unorganised workers with a universal account number, which has registered several crores of workers; the One Nation One Ration Card scheme, which lets beneficiaries of the food security programme get grain from any fair price shop in the country; the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes scheme of 2020; and the four labour codes brought into effect in November 2025, which cover social security and occupational safety. The effectiveness of these measures depends on enrolment, enforcement and the funding of portable benefits.
How Should Policy Balance Gains and Losses?
The usual view is that migration, which can create a demographic imbalance between regions, is a response to regional differences in opportunity and also a means of reducing them. The gains can be increased by cutting the cost of sending money, encouraging remittances to be invested in productive use, giving skills training before migration, and by widening the opportunities in source regions through rural non-farm jobs and better services. For destinations, it means planning for housing, transport and water, and protecting the rights of newcomers. Brain drain can be turned into brain gain when emigrants send back investment, knowledge and networks, as with the information technology diaspora, as in Migration: Push and Pull Factors, Internal and Cross-Border Migration. As an analytical point, internal migration is the biggest unused policy instrument for growth and equity in India: a worker who moves to a higher-productivity job raises both his or her own income and the output of the economy, and so the aim of policy should not be to stop migration but to make it safe, portable and dignified, which requires data on who moves and where, a task for the coming census.
What Was Reverse Migration During the COVID-19 Lockdown?
In short: when the national lockdown began on 25 March 2020, millions of urban workers lost their jobs and went back to villages, in the largest reverse movement seen in India since Partition.
- What happened: factories, construction sites and markets closed suddenly, so migrant workers lost wages and shelter, and many walked long distances before special trains (Shramik Specials) began in May 2020. Government estimates suggested that about 10 million migrant workers returned home, and other studies gave larger numbers.
- Destinations: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Rajasthan received most of the returnees.
- Problems at home: unemployment, pressure on rural jobs and on the rural health system, and loss of remittances. Many returned to cities after the lockdown ended, so reverse migration was largely temporary.
- Causes in general: reverse migration also happens due to economic slowdown, failed crops at the destination, a push policy against migrants, conflict or disasters, or the choice to go home with savings or skills.
What Policy Responses Followed?
| Measure | Content |
|---|---|
| Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan (June 2020) | Rural public works for returnee migrants in 116 districts of six states |
| Additional funds for MGNREGS | Wage work for rural households, including returnees |
| One Nation One Ration Card | Portability of food rations across states |
| e-Shram portal (2021) | National database of unorganised workers, including migrants |
| Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (2020) | Rental housing for urban migrants and the poor |
| Labour codes | Consolidation of labour laws, including provisions on inter-state migrant workers and social security, passed in 2019 and 2020 |
The earlier law on migrants, the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, was weakly enforced and has been subsumed in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.
What Is the Rehabilitation Policy for Displaced People?
People are also forced to move by projects such as dams, mines, highways and industrial areas, which is sometimes called development-induced displacement. The Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was replaced by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. It provides compensation of up to two to four times the market value of land, a social impact assessment, consent of a large share of affected families for private projects, and rehabilitation measures such as housing, jobs or annuities, and development of infrastructure at resettlement sites. It also provides for the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Authority. The National Policy on Resettlement and Rehabilitation of 2007 was the earlier guide. Despite these laws, projects like the Sardar Sarovar Dam and Polavaram have shown difficulties in actual resettlement, with delays, poor sites and loss of livelihoods, especially for tribal communities, as in Sutlej; Himachal Pradesh and Punjab Hirakud Mahanadi; Odisha Tehri Bhagirathi; Uttarakhand; 260.5 m Sardar Sarovar Narmada; Gujarat…">Multipurpose River Valley Projects and Major Dams of India (Bhakra Nangal, Hirakud, Tehri, Sardar Sarovar).
As an analytical point, migration and displacement need a joint approach: portable benefits, rental housing, skills and secure rights. The general causes of movement are in Migration: Push and Pull Factors, Internal and Cross-Border Migration.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Concepts Brain drain and remittances
- Schemes e-Shram and ration portability
- Link Urbanisation and slums
What Came Next?
The next topic describes the types of urban settlements and the urban growth process. Next topic: Types of Urban Settlements and the Urban Growth Process.
Key People and Terms
- Remittance Money sent home by migrants
- Brain drain Loss of skilled people
- Brain gain Return of skills and investment
- Portability Ability to claim benefits anywhere
- e-Shram Database of unorganised workers
- Left-behind Family members staying at home
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- India gets the world’s largest remittances.
- Brain drain hurts the origin; brain gain reverses it.
- e-Shram registers unorganised workers.
- One Nation One Ration Card allows ration anywhere.
- Slums and congestion are destination problems.
Do Not Confuse With
- Brain drain and brain gain Loss versus return of skills
- Remittance and investment Family transfer versus capital
- Origin and destination effects Loss of labour versus pressure on services
Memory Hook
Money flows home, skills flow out; cities crowd, villages age; portability is the cure.
Mains Angle
Questions ask for balanced effects and policy. These points add depth.
- Gains Remittances and labour supply
- Costs Brain drain and slums
- Policy Portability and data
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Examine the economic and social consequences of migration on the regions of origin and destination, and suggest measures to protect migrant workers.”
How to Answer
- Economic Remittances and labour.
- Demographic Imbalance.
- Social and environmental Culture and slums.
- Measures Portability and registration.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
What problems do migrant workers face in India?
Migrant workers in India face informal jobs, low wages, lack of social security, poor housing in slums, and loss of access to benefits such as ration, health care and voting because these are tied to their home place. The 2020 lockdown showed the lack of data and protection for them.
What is the One Nation One Ration Card scheme?
One Nation One Ration Card is a scheme that allows beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act to buy subsidised grain from any fair price shop in the country, using their ration card with biometric authentication. It is designed to help migrant workers who move across states, so that benefits are portable.
What is reverse migration?
Reverse migration is the movement of migrants back to their place of origin from the destination where they worked. It occurred on a huge scale during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, when millions of migrant workers lost jobs and homes in cities and returned to villages, mainly in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
What is the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan?
The Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan, launched in June 2020, was a campaign to provide employment and rural public works to returnee migrant workers and rural citizens in 116 districts of six states: Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha, which had received the largest numbers of returnees.
What does the 2013 land acquisition law provide for rehabilitation?
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 requires a social impact assessment, consent of affected families for some projects, compensation of up to two to four times the market value, and rehabilitation and resettlement benefits such as housing, jobs or annuity, and infrastructure at resettlement sites.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 Migration has no demographic effect on the area of origin.
It changes the age and sex structure.
2 The nationwide COVID-19 lockdown began on 25 March 2020.
It caused large reverse migration.
3 The 2013 Act replaced the Land Acquisition Act of 1894.
It added rehabilitation provisions.
4 e-Shram is a database of unorganised workers.
It was launched in 2021.
Past Mains Questions on This Topic
This topic comes under Urbanization, Settlements and Migration. UPSC Mains questions asked on the matching syllabus topic, year-wise with marks:
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