Page 84 - IJPS-10-3

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Interstate outmigration in India and the

COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and emerging
perspectives

1
Manas Kumar Pedi * and Kshamanidhi Adabar 2
1 Department of Economics, School of Social, Financial and Human Sciences, Kalinga Institute of
Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
2 Department of Economics, Center for Studies in Economics and Planning, Central University of
Gujarat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

Abstract

Interstate migrants from less developed states seek better livelihoods in more
developed ones, yet encounter challenges such as loss of state benefits and
workplace mistreatment. Drawing data from the Indian Census of 1991, 2001, and
2011, this paper examines interstate outmigration in India and the challenges faced
by migrants in their destination areas. The results revealed that low-income states
such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Odisha are among the top migratory
states in the country. This result aligns with developmental theories, which believe
that migration helps both sources and destination areas through optimal allocation
of factors of production. Further, an analysis of female outmigration for economic
reasons revealed disparities between the top female outmigratory states and total
outmigratory states. Hence, it can be inferred that female interstate migration for
*Corresponding author:
Manas Kumar Pedi economic reasons is not simply an association with their male counterparts. The
(manas.pedifcm@kiit.ac.in) paper then highlights common problems faced by migrants at destination points
and underscores the 2020 migrant crises that the country experienced due to
Citation: Pedi, M.K. & Adabar, K.
(2024). Interstate outmigration in lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, by analyzing the existing
India and the COVID-19 pandemic: policy measures of the government, the study proposes short-term (also to address
Challenges and emerging current migrant crises) and long-term policy measures to mitigate challenges
perspectives. International Journal
of Population Studies, 10(3): 78-90. associated with outmigration.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.0916
Received: May 7, 2023 Keywords: Outmigration; Low-income states; India; COVID-19; Policy response
Accepted: December 5, 2023
Published Online: April 24, 2024
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). 1. Introduction
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the Migration from one area to another is often seen as a development strategy among
Creative Commons Attribution impoverished populations. It allows the poor to diversify their income sources and elevate
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, their standard of living through improved consumption, good health, and education.
provided the original work is Theoretically, this nexus of migration and development has been supported by neo-
properly cited. classical and developmental theories. These theories hold optimistic views and believe
Publisher’s Note: AccScience that migration helps both sources and destination areas through optimal allocation of
Publishing remains neutral with factors of production. Specifically, the individualistic approach to migration by Todaro
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional (1969) and the extension of this approach to the household approach by Stark (1980;
affiliations. 1991) considered migration as essentially an economic phenomenon with positive

Volume 10 Issue 3 (2024) 78 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.0916