India’s Migration Governance Needs a Whole-of-Journey Approach

Syllabus: GS2/ Governance

Context

• India’s large-scale evacuation of its citizens from West Asia, highlights a deeper structural issue of migration governance which is reactive and crisis-driven, rather than continuous and comprehensive.

Significance of Migration for India

• Economic Growth: Migration plays a vital role in efficient allocation of labour across regions and sectors.
  • Internal migration supports industrialisation and urbanisation by supplying labour to construction, manufacturing, and services sectors.
• External Sector Stability: Indian migrants are among the largest contributors to global remittances.
  • The Gulf Cooperation Council contributes 37.9% of India’s total remittance inflows in 2023–24, reflecting its importance for Household incomes, State-level economies and National foreign exchange stability.
• Livelihood Diversification: Migration provides employment opportunities when local labour markets are unable to absorb surplus labour.
  • It acts as a safety valve for unemployment and underemployment, particularly in agrarian regions.
• Human Capital Formation: Migration enables skill acquisition and exposure to new technologies and work practices. Returning migrants often bring back enhanced skills and entrepreneurial experience.
• Diplomatic Importance: The large Indian diaspora strengthens India’s global presence and soft power.
  • Migrants act as bridges for trade, investment, and cultural exchange between India and other countries.

Key Challenges in Migration Governance

• Crisis-Oriented Policy Approach: The government’s engagement with migration intensifies during emergencies such as conflicts or pandemics.
  • There is limited institutional focus on prevention, preparedness, and long-term welfare mechanisms.
• Fragmented Institutional Architecture: Migration governance is divided across multiple actors;
  • The Ministry of External Affairs handles emigration and diplomatic coordination.
  • The Ministry of Labour and Employment oversees worker welfare and recruitment regulation.
  • State governments manage skilling programmes and welfare schemes.
• Incomplete Visibility of Migrants: Migrants are visible to different parts of the system at different stages, but there is no integrated tracking or support mechanism.
  • This results in gaps in protection, especially during transitions between stages.
• Data Deficiency: India lacks granular, real-time migration data, particularly at the district level. This limits the state’s ability to anticipate migration-related risks and deliver targeted welfare measures.
• Hidden Vulnerabilities: Migration systems often experience slow and cumulative stress, such as rising cost of living, wage stagnation and tightening labour regulations abroad.
  • These issues do not immediately disrupt production or remittance flows, but gradually increase worker precarity.

Policy Recommendations

• Migration policy must be designed to cover the entire lifecycle of migration, including origin, recruitment, transit, destination, and return.
• Strengthen Migration Data Systems: Develop a national migration database with district-level granularity. Use digital platforms to track migrant flows, skill profiles and employment status.
• Reform Recruitment Systems: Strengthen regulation of recruitment agencies to prevent exploitation, fraudulent practices and excessive fees.
• Bilateral Labour Mobility Agreements: India should deepen engagement with key destination regions such as the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to ensure standardised contracts, minimum wages and safe working conditions and social security and insurance coverage.

Concluding remarks

• India must move from a reactive, crisis-driven approach to a proactive, continuous migration governance framework.
• Recognising migration as a connected and ongoing process, rather than episodic movement, is essential.
• A whole-of-journey approach will enhance worker welfare, strengthen economic resilience, and ensure that migration remains a driver of inclusive growth rather than vulnerability.

Source: IE