PROPOSAL FOR THE RESEARCH STUDY OF THE THESIS FOR THE DEGREE

OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE SUBJECT OF ECONOMICS

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

ECONOMICS OF LABOUR IN RELATION TO MIGRATION AND REVERSE

MIGRATION IN INDIAN ECONOMY DURING COVID- 19 WITH SPECIAL
REFERENCE TO MUMBAI

PREPARED BY-

MR. VIGNESH.M.IYER

MR. VIGNESH.M.IYER DR.SHAGUN SRIVASTAVA

RESEARCH SCHOLAR RESEARCH GUIDE

1
 INDEX

SR.NO RESEARCH OUTLINE PAGE NO.

1 INTRODUCTION 3

2 REVIEW OF 4
LITERATURE

3 IMPORTANCE OF 14
STUDY

4 RESEARCH 14
OBJECTIVES

5 RESEARCH 14
HYPOTHESIS

6 RESEARCH 15
METHODOLOGY

7 SCOPE AND 15
LIMITATION OF THE
STUDY
8 CONCLUSION 16

9 SUGGESTIONS 16

10 CHAPTER IN BRIEF 16

11 REFERENCES 17

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1. INTRODUCTION

The Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) has disrupted millions of people’s lives in India. Many
have lost their livelihood and jobs which created huge crises for the people and the Economy
at large.

Coronavirus is spread over more than 190 countries and India is one of the countries which is
badly affected by the virus. The very first case of COVID-19 in India was reported on 30th
January 2020. The nationwide lockdown for 21 days was announced in March 2020. Lockdown
was extended to more days, as the cases were rising at a skyrocketing speed.

People migrate from their place of origin to the place of employment for better quality of life
(Education, Infrastructure, Health, Employment, etc), but due to coronavirus pandemic, the
migration pattern was triggered to a massive reverse migration from the “place of employment”
to “place of origin” in large parts of the country. {Reverse Migration is a situation when the
Migrant workers move back to their own native places. A distressing pitfall has been the
massive Reverse Migration of the migrant workers from the destination centers (workplaces)
to their native places in order to escape starvation brought in by sudden loss of jobs and lack
of effective social protection mechanisms (https://www.nipfp.org.in) }.We witnessed hundreds
of thousands of labourers marching back to their villages to find some warmth and empathy
more than anything else, as the rest is going to be too hard to come by. During this period,
many labourers could not sustain themselves in the city which led them to move to their
hometown. The people faced a lot of problems which were defined as humanitarian crises.
Mass migration is considered as the second largest movement after the partition of India in
1947. This virus has shown the leakages of the economic system in India, the severe income
disparity that persists over here, the severe situation of the labourers, and the deprived condition
of the people in the lower-income strata. This pandemic has increased the suffering and
worsened the condition of poor people who lack the basic- necessities of life, as there was a
complete halt in the economic system.

The notion of the “migrant” in the current capitalist times and the world of migrants in it are
explored. The source to destination streams of migrant labour is outlined, and it is then argued
that reverse migration will perhaps usher in the greatest crisis in the rural landscape of India,
for which we are not yet prepared. In India, we see huge regional imbalances in different states
which creates a direct or indirect effect on the people. Many states do not have proper
infrastructure which makes the people move out of that area and hence that area does not
prosper. {A Migrant Labourer is defined in the International Labour Organisation as a person
who migrates from one place to another place with the view to being employed other than his
own account and includes any person regularly admitted as a migrant for
employment(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.govs) }

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The global economy is shrunk by 3.0% in 2020, because of the virus spread and corresponding
lock downs, making the situation comparable with that of the Great Depression of 1929. India’s
GDP had fallen by 7.3% in FY21 though it was expected to rise. The reason for the downfall
being that the expected number of MNC’s that would change their production plant from China
to India did not materialise as expected, for investments. India has good market for cheap
labour but, India could not attract the MNC’s because of the certain restrictions. These
restrictions were mainly related to high rates of land and interest rate. The MNC’s had an
additional cost of training the labour which made them to divert their interest to others countries
like Vietnam, Thailand, etc. The MNC’s who wanted the shift their plant from China, studied
about India, and though India has a huge market, it would be difficult to setup the firms due to
the huge cost on Land, Rate of Interest and Labour capital.

If MNC’s from all the sectors, as promised, had shifted to India, then India could have achieved
the expected GDP and we would not have seen a mass rate of unemployment and reverse
migration even during the pandemic. If more MNC’s were set, the regional imbalances would
have reduced.

Though, countries all over the world and India had expected a huge influx of Investments by
many firms, it did not happen and hence India reels in Economics problems like
Unemployment, etc.

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Migrant workers – who typically perform precarious, informal, and low-wage jobs – are and
will likely remain among the hardest hit by this crisis. Further, together with other poor people
in urban areas, they are now confronting rising prices for essential goods and a looming food
crisis set in motion by the pandemic. The lockdown has created havoc not only in urban areas
but added pressure on the rural sector as major populations returned to their native land for
survival which increased unemployment, and health problems. The mass movement of people
became, directly or indirectly, the transmitters of the virus to their villages.

In this research thesis, research scholar would like to draw attention to an ongoing process that
could hamper the land systems: that of reverse migration, or the return of migrant workers from
cities to their rural areas of origin, especially in low-income and middle-income areas. To
date, most reports on the mobility effects of the pandemic have emphasized migration flows,
and in this research thesis, research scholar would focus on urban-rural migration flows
triggered by COVID-19, and how they could affect the way land systems are used, understood,
and also focus on the migration pattern after the lockdown was lifted to study their employment
status, the problems faced by them in the villages, and what are their effects after their return
to cities. The research thesis also gives suggestions on how it can be governed and handled in
an efficient manner, if such problems had to occur in future.

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1. Sunanda Sen (2020): In her research paper, “Pandemic and the Reverse
Migration of Labour in India”, explains the reasons for the migration of the
labourers from rural to urban as the agriculture- distress is growing, making it
difficult for labourers to sustain in rural areas. The research paper proves that
numerous Acts such as Contract Labor Regulation and Abolition Act 1970, the
Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act 1979, Street Vendors act 2014, and the state-wise
ordinance were of no importance during this pandemic as it did not concentrate on
the informal sector which was the main reason for reverse migration. The framing
of the state-wise ordinance was irrelevant as there was huge unemployment in the
informal sector which pushed the migrant labourers back to their hometown as they
could not sustain themselves in the city without livelihood.
2. Shri Kant Singh and Aditi Chaudhary (2020): In their research paper, “Return
migration of labourers in the surge of covid-19 in India, Multidimensional
Vulnerability and Public Health Challenges”, mentions migrant labour and
studies the spread of Covid-19 because of the migration. The paper shows five
dimensions of the vulnerability of the migrant labourers as (1) The transmission of
the covid-19 virus, (2) Increase in the unemployment rate, (3)Overburden of
population at the place of origin, (4)Inadequate health practice and (5)Labour
crunch in the urban area, and gives information on how labourers from high impact
zones migrate to the villages leading to an increase in the number of covid-19 cases
in rural areas.
3. Bhanu Pratap Singh (2020): In his paper, “Impact of COVID-19 on Rural
Economy in India” studies the short-run impacts, like Pressure on the health sector,

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 Loss of livelihood, Increase in unemployment and, the Long-run effects like Loss
of human capital and Inadequate infrastructure on the rural economy in India due
to Covid –19. It mainly focuses on health infrastructure and economic factors of the
rural sector. It gives an idea of future challenges and gives some instant solutions
like cash incentives or instant money transfer to sustain their living for the informal
sector which can tackle reducing the inequalities in the long run.
4. Dr. Sayantani Roy Choudhury and Ms. Suranjana Joarder (2020): In their
research paper, “Reverse Migration Due to Long Lockdown in India- Is it
Sustainable?”, tell about the reasons for migrations and reverse migration. They
clearly explain that due to this pandemic, many informal workers had a traumatic
experience that made them shift from the city to their hometowns. It gives an in-
depth knowledge about the rural workforce and the research evaluates whether the
migrant’s labours sustain in the city rather than going back to their village. The
research paper explains the shift of the rural workforce with data and stats showing
clearly why migrant labourers tend to shift from their villages to cities. The research
paper talks about the share of the rural workforce in which various aspects like the
employment rate indulged in agriculture and non-agricultural activities like service
sector.
5. Subhomay Saha and Karan Peer (2020): In their paper, “Migrant Construction
Workers of India: Evaluating Their Contemporary Welfare Framework”
gives us in-depth knowledge of the migration and problems faced by construction
workers during this pandemic. The research paper shows the patterns and trends in
the working pattern of the construction workers. The research paper tells about the
legal framework laid down by the Government for the migrant construction
workers.
6. Narayan Barman (2020): In his research paper,” COVID-19 and Livelihood
Challenges of Migrant Workers after Returning Home −A Case Study of
Reverse Migration from Kerala to West Bengal” talks about a case study of the
reverse migration that happened from Kerala to West Bengal. This research paper
talks about the challenges faced by migrant workers due to a loss of pay and loss of
livelihood. Many were excluded from the various government welfare measures,
were stranded with nowhere to go, these migrants feared the spread of the covid-19
virus, mentally and physically, tired due to this lockdown. The research paper tells
about the role of the government during this pandemic and mentions that it could
have played a better role by extending the timely help that would have otherwise
helped these migrant labourers to sustain themselves in the city.
7. Amit Chatterjee, Jai Ram Thappa, Manaswi Kele, and Eesha Pendse (2020):
In their research paper, “Will Covid-19 cause rural development? An analysis of
the effects of reverse migration”, gives us a brief knowledge about the lewis
model and how it became a limitation during the pandemic. This research paper
tells about the causes of migrant labourers from the urban sector to the rural sector.
It also mentions the effects of reverse migration on rural development and evaluates
a limitation of the lewis model by elaborating that the urban economy could not pull
back the migrant labourers. After the lockdown, due to their traumatic situation

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 during the lockdown, which had worsened their livelihood, though the wages were
high in urban areas, it could not absorb the migrant labourers and became one of
the limitations for the lewis model.
8. Satadru Sikdar and Preksha Mishra (2020): In their research paper, “Reverse
Migration during Lockdown: A Snapshot of Public Policies” analyses the
migration patterns with the data of 2011 and gives a critical analysis of reverse
migration during this pandemic. This research paper gives a gist about the public
policies for the migrants during this pandemic. The research paper talks about
emerging problems such as inflation during the lockdown which made the migrant
workers shift from their place of employment to their native places. The paper
mainly focuses on the public policies which suggest the betterment of migrant
labourers, but due to drip in India’s GDP which had worsened the condition of the
State and the Central Government of India, to function smoothly.
9. Pinak Sarkar and Nutan Shashi Tigga (2020): In the research paper, “Economic
Consequences of COVID-19 in Bihar: From the Lens of Reverse Migration”,
evaluate the effects and cause of reverse migration in Bihar due to loss of remittance
and has concentrated on the labour market, unemployment rate and loss in the
economy. The research paper also suggests some remedial measures for migrant
workers such as a skill mapping program to generate employment and the reduction
of income tax to improve the livelihood of the migrant workers to boost not only
their lives but the economy as a whole.
10. Jean N. Lee, Mahreen Mahmud, Jonathan Morduch, Saravana Ravindran and
Abu Shonchoy (2020): In their research paper, “Migration and the diffusion of
Covid-19 in South Asia”, focuses on the reverse migration in South Asian
countries. The research paper studies the reverse migration patterns with the active
Covid-19 cases. The research paper tries to prove how migration is spreading the
virus to different places in the countries. The research paper also talks about travel
policies in different South Asia Countries. The research paper proves with data that
due to internal and external migration, there has been an increase in health risks and
pressure on health facilities of all the countries.
11. Mohd Salman Kavish (2021): In his research paper, “India's Response to
COVID-19 and Migration Challenges”, analysed the reverse migration of the
country which occurred due to the pandemic (Covid - 19). This research paper
focused on the informal sector/ unorganized sector and the issues faced by them
during the lockdown. It shows the exodus of migrants from their workplace to their
native places due to various problems like starvation, unemployment, and lack of
residential proof for the schemes to be claimed by the migrant labourers. The
schemes did not fulfil the needs of the migrant workers to hold them back in the
city due to which there was a huge displacement of the population from urban areas
to the rural areas to sustain themselves and survive from starvation. The research
paper proves that due to improper enforcement of schemes there was a huge reverse
migration.
12. R.Lusome and R.B.Bhagat (2020): In their paper, “ Migration In Northeast
India: Inflows, Outflows and Reverse Flows during Pandemic”, analysed the

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 migration patterns of the seven sisters states (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.). They have studied both internal and
international migration. The paper talks about the reasons why people prefer to
move from the place of origin to other places. It studies the inflows and the outflows
of people from the northeast states. It states the present consequences on the states
due to lockdown as it had huge inflow of migrants which had pressure on various
factors.
13. Ranjan Aneja and Vaishali Ahuja (2020): In their paper, “An assessment of
socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 pandemic in India”, they have analysed
about the sectoral impacts due to Covid-19 on the Indian Economy. In the paper, an
in-depth knowledge about the effects, during Covid-19, in the sectors (Primary,
Secondary, Service sectors) are given, like, in primary sector the agriculture and the
allied activities which made losses to the farmers, the allied activities like fishing,
animal husbandry, horticulture showed a negative impact. In secondary sector, the
manufacturing sector had expected the growth in the first quarter but due to Covid-
19 pandemic the business slowed down drastically. The MSME’s could not get
timely help during the lockdown for sustaining the global market. In service sector
the financial institutions were affected as there was an increase in NPA which made
the bank weak. The paper also throws light on the societal impact due to COVID-
19 like Gender Inequality, health pressure on urban and rural, Crime rate, Reverse
Migration, Job Losses, Mental Health, etc. This paper also shows the positive side
of Covid-19 on environment. Due to lockdown, the air, water, soil, flora and fauna
are safeguarded and the nature has healed on its own to some extent.
14. Devalina Mookerjee, Sujoy Chakravarty, Shubhabrata Roy, Anirudh Tagat,
and Shagata Mukherjee (2021): In their research paper, “A Culture-Centered
Approach to Experience of the Coronavirus Pandemic lockdown among
internal Migrants in India” they have analysed the problems of migrant labourers
and what triggers the stress among them, and how the CCA (Cultural-Centered
Approach) understands about the migrants. The paper mainly focuses on health of
the returned migrants and finds out the reasons for stress.
15. Avanindra Nath Thakur (2020): In his Research paper, “Economic implication
of reverse migration in India” studies about the migration for the past number of
years, to get the in- depth knowledge of the migration patterns. This paper also has
analysed about how different sectors absorb the migrant labourers and which sector
predicted a higher return in 2020-21. But, due to Covid-19 pandemic, everything
slurped which deepened all the crises for the labour and the informal class. This
paper studied about the MGNREGA which could have helped the situation to some
extent but failed as the allocation of the funds and the management was not proper.
The paper gave some suggestions to tackle the situation like providing healthcare
facilities for stopping the virus, providing cash transfers, food, etc. for betterment
of the migrant labourers.
16. Saheli Roy Choudhury (2020): In the news article “India’s economy was hit by
the coronavirus lockdown. These charts show how” analyses the unemployment
rate of Rural and Urban during the lockdown. The article briefs about how the

8
 industrial sector and the service sector were affected due to which many migrant
labourers were unemployed and had to leave the city to sustain their lives.
17. Dr.Poornima G.R and Dr. Suresh Kumar M.N (2020): In their research paper,
“Corona, India and Mass migration : Unfolding Implications for the Present
and the Future” analyses district wise migration and to understand the problems
of the migrants during the lockdown. It also talks about the labour laws for
protection which failed and could not revive the situation.
18. Dr.Binu Singh, Dr.Anant Sharma, Dr.Virendra Singh (2020): In their research
paper “Migrant Labourers and Covid-19 Lockdown in India” gives a systematic
overview of the migrant labourers in India. The paper gives us about the average
daily wage, ratio of migrant labourers in India, salary of the migrant labourers, age
profile and the reasons of migrations more accurately. It gives us the wider
knowledge how the migrant workers think.
19. Rohini Hensman(2020): The research paper “ The COVID-19 Lockdown in
India: A predictable Catastrophe for Informal Labour” throws light on the
informal labour class who are deprived of their rights and misused by many. It
mainly focuses on the failures of Covid relief package which could not reach the
poor on time for their survival. The paper shows a more negative side of the relief
package and the management of government during the pandemic. Many people
were mentally and physically exhausted by the Lockdown and no timely help
worsened their conditions.
20. Sumita Shrivastava and Omkar Lal Shrivastava(2020): In their research paper
“ Migration in India: Spurt in reverse migration amid Economic slowdown
due to Lockdown” study about the main reason for migration as being better
quality of life. The researchers thought that the economy showed slow progress
though it was estimated that it would show a progress, which led to an increase in
the unemployment rate and forced millions to go back to their villages. The paper
showed a broad classification on how government helped during the lockdown by
separating the fields like Transport, food distribution, housing, financial aid, etc. for
the survival of the poor class and the migrant labourers.
21. Vikash R Keshri (2020): In the article “Covid, Reverse migration and
opportunities to reinvent Gram Swaraj” explains the brief about the
consequences to both the area (area of origin and to the area of employment) how
there is a pressure created in the area of origin by the return of migrants and also
explains the shortage of skilled and semi-skilled workers in the area of employment.
The article further explains and list the effects of the all sectors, and even include
the mental health about the workers. The author has mentioned the approach of
gram swaraj (Self-reliance) which can create job opportunities in their villages and
help in economic development. It can also reduce the regional imbalance as the
return migrants have the experience of their field. But this requires a huge
investment and proper planning for execution of the plan.
22. Ravi Srivastava (2020): In his research paper “Covid-19 and Circular Migration
in India” explains the meaning of circular migration and gives a brief about the
past years’ circular migration in the country to compare with the lockdown

9
 situation. Circular migration has affected the regions before the pandemic but it
even worsened the case in the pandemic. The paper reveals that the government had
focused mainly to the circular migrants abroad rather than focusing on the circular
migrants in the country. The paper also talks about the mismanagement of the
central Government as they could not understand the magnitude of the problems of
the migrant workers during the lockdown. The Central Government left the
responsibilities to the states which made the situation worse as the central
government refused to take the load of the migrant labourers. The paper explains
how the different states provided assistance to the migrants by various ways like
giving a financial aid, food, shelter. Some states even offered ex gratia to the
workers which can help them to sustain. The paper concludes that the informal class
were the most affected by the lockdown.
23. Ravi Srivastava (2020): In his research paper “Understanding Circular
Migration in India: Its Nature and Dimensions, the crisis under lockdown and
the response of the State” explains the meaning of circular migration and gives a
brief about the past years circular migration in country to compare with the
lockdown situation. Circular migration has affected the regions before the pandemic
but it even worsen the case in the pandemic. The paper reveals that the government
had focused mainly to the circular migrants abroad rather than focusing on the
circular migrants in the country. The paper also tells about the mismanagement of
the central Government as they could not understand the magnitude of the migrant
workers during the lockdown. The Central Government left the responsibilities to
the states which made the situation worse as the central government refused to take
the load of the migrant labourers. The paper explains how the different states
provided assistance to the migrants by various ways like giving a financial aid, food,
shelter. Some states even offered ex gratia to the workers which can help them to
sustain. The paper concludes that the informal class were the most affected by the
lockdown as many issues were not addressed by the state as it did not focus on
public health investment, labour market which should have a labour code, financial
institutions should be strong which are in a way a lessons to improve and be well
planned in future.
24. R.B. Bhagat, Reshmi R.S, Harihar Sahoo, Archana K.Roy and Dipti
Govil(2020): In their Paper “ The Covid-19, Migration and Livelihood in India”
analyse the migration patterns and reasons for migration of previous years to get
the detailed purview of the migration in India. The paper analyses the immediate
impact of covid—19 on migrant workers who faced problems of food, shelter and
also loss of jobs. The paper clearly analyses the share of migration with the
increasing number of cases of Covid-19 which proved that as the workers migrated
back to their villages, the virus had spread to their core. This made the state’s health
centres weak. The paper also examines the future challenges and also gives a
strategy to face it. The main challenge is how to handle the migrant workers during
this pandemic. The solution is to give instant cash transfers and basic necessities.
To develop the health sector for a huge population by investing more in it.

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25. Pazhanisamy, R. (2020): In his paper “Pandemic Impact on Migrants,
Immigrants and Reverse Migrants in India. Implications for Immediate Policy
Interventions” examines the data with migration pattern of 2011 census to get an
overview of the lockdown scenario. Migrant workers mainly migrate for better
opportunities and for better income. The paper elaborates socio economic impact of
Covid -19 which slowed the growth of India. The paper explaineds the spread of
virus was triggered by the movement of the migrant workers. The suggestion made
in paper were to set of relief and rehabilitation centers like war bases for faster and
portal health centers. To offers loans for income generation which can encourage
them to invest in their villages for a living.
26. Manavi Kapur(2020): In her news article “Charted: Lockdown is only the
beginning of misery for India’s migrant Labourers” gave an in-depth knowledge
of the migrant labourers and their problems during the Lockdown. The impacts,
side effects were analysed in this article which gave the root answer to the problem
of survival of migrant labourers. Migrant wage rate and their sustaining power
proved for how many days they could sustain in the city. Food Security, financial
aid was not given on time because many of the workers were excluded or were not
aware of the schemes of the government policies. The key to survival is food but if
the workers could not afford to get it, became one of most important things to
reverse migrant to their villages. The article also tries to elaborate what the migrant
labourers wanted from government like monthly ration, loan waivers, financial
support could have been a backbone for labourers.
27. Avanindra Nath Thakur(2020): In her research paper “The State of the
Economy, Employment Conditions and Reverse Migration in India:
Challenges and Prospects in the times of Covid-19” analysed the sectorial
breakup of the migration which was affected by the Covid—19 break out. The
unemployment rate increased during this period. The reverse migration led to
shortage of resources and villages could not absorb the migrant labourers as the
health care were not developed in the villages. This pandemic has taught us to
improve our health care centers even in villages so that the economy develops.
Many lost their jobs, even in agricultural sector and it was a major setback due to
the pandemic. The relief measures were not effective but could have improved for
faster reach.
28. Dr.Samit Mahore(2020): In his research paper “ Covid-19 Crisis through the
Lens of Migrant Worker: An Indian Perspective” have analysed the major
drawbacks of the lockdown on the migrant labourers as weak health care centers
and weak economic policy for survival. The Covid-19 Breakout has a long term
effect for migrant workers as they can have psychological effects and they may find
it difficult to find a job, leading to a socio economic effect on migrant workers. The
impact on migrant workers during this pandemic were poor living standards, failing
to send remittances to support their families, increase in unemployment rate, poor
infrastructure which affects the migrant labourers on health standards, lack of data
about the informal sector, lack of transportation led to major trauma to many of the
workers. Many had spent a lot on transportation to reach their villages which in

11
 turn affected their savings. Last, but not the least, improper execution of the
Government policies. The policies which were made to help the migrant labourers
were good but it did not reach poor.
29. Patralekha Chatterjee (2020): in the news article “The Pandemic Exposes
India’s Apathy Toward Migrant Workers” elaborates the migrant workers’
situation during the lockdown. The researcher suspected that these migrant workers
could have been potential carriers of covid-19 virus which spread to the core of the
country. The paper examines about the stranded migrant workers how they faced
the travel issues and the problems of food shortage during their journey to their
villages. The paper throws light on how states took action for the migrants labourers
during the lockdown.
30. Amiya Kumar Mohapatra(2020): In his research paper “ Migrant’s Misery and
Livelihood Mapping: The Unfinished Agenda” analyses the mental and health
of migrants workers during the lockdown as many were in extreme stressful
condition without jobs, food, shelter which increased the panic among the migrant
workers. The research paper examines a case of Odia migrant workers during the
lockdown and the post effect of the Lockdown. Many migrant workers who entered
Odia without giving proper information to the government led to the increase in the
spread of the Virus at a faster rate. The labourers were financially weak and the
state could not do much. The paper suggested to improve the health and livelihood
issues to support migrant workers.
31. Srirang K Jha and Manoj Kumar (2020): In their research paper “Covid-19
scare and Plight of Indian Migrant workers: Decoding the Impact of
Nationwide Lockdown” analysed that the lockdown that has been an unfortunate
situation on the Indian migrants who move to different places in search of livelihood
and how it made them return to their villages. The research paper has explained
about the migrant workers not being aware of the government schemes by which
they could have received the support during the lockdown. The policy makers did
not expect this kind of mass movement of the workers. This created chaos between
the authorities and the migrant labourers. The paper explained the large influx of
migrant workers that spread the Covid-19 virus in their villages worsening the
situation in the rural sector of India. The paper suggested to empower the villages
with schemes that can help the migrant labourers to sustain in their villages. This
will not only just help the migrants but also develop the rural sector of India.
32. Geeta Pandey (2020): In her news article “Coronavirus in India: Desperate
migrant workers trapped in lockdown” examines the migrant labourer’s situation
in various states and also conducted many personal interviews with the stranded
migrant labourers. It was revealed that many migrants who wanted transportation
facility to go to their respective villages were instead taken to the nearby schools
and camps for shelter in order to avoid the spread of virus. Though they were
provided with food and shelter, they felt that the Government had tricked them. The
Government had mismanaged the help (Provisions and funds) to be given to the
migrant labourers. The article had distinguished two types- visible and invisible
Migrants. Visible migrants are the ones who got shelter and the invisible migrants

12
 were in large numbers, and are the ones who did not receive any shelter. The worst
affected were the informal group as there was no proper planning for the relief
package for many migrant labourers.
33. Roli Srivastava and Anuradha Nagaraj(2020): In their news article “ As migrant
workers struggle for lockdown aid, India seeks to count them” tells about the
mismanagement of the government as nobody expected mass migration. There was
asymmetric information of migration which led to failure of relief packages the
migrants. Many states offered data to labour commissioner but they could not help
the large magnitude of migrant labourers. Many stranded labourers were affected
without food and shelter which created a huge impact in Indian economy.
34. ET Bureau (2020): In the news article “India Lockdownn: Migrant workers
plight breaks political ceasefire” tells us about the political parties suggesting
some measures to the Prime Minister. The article reveals the situation of the migrant
labourers due to the lockdown. The main suggestion was to provide shelter to the
labourers who were stranded in the cities without any livelihood. The Prime
minister’s action of lockdown was with lack of planning and was implemented
without proper preparation which affected many poor sections of the society .
35. Press Trust of India (2020): In the news article “Government sets up 2 control
rooms to address migrant workers plight amid coronavirus lockdown” explains
the setup of control rooms by the Labour Ministry to resolve the problem of the
migrant labourers to certain extent. The 20 control rooms were to serve the migrant
labourers but these 20 were not enough for the 40-crore informal migrant labourers
in India. The control camps were not even set up in every state for many to able to
access them.
36. Narendra Thakur, Manik Kumar and Vaishali (2020): In their research paper
“Stimulating economy via fiscal package: The only way out to save vulnerable
workers lives and livelihood in Covid-19 pandemic” analyses the share of
vulnerable workers of 2019 and compares it with the 2020 during the lockdown
who migrated to see the impact of socio economic problems. The paper examines
the PM Covid-19 relief package, which was implemented to improve the condition
of the migrant and informal workers. The paper mainly focuses on the expansionary
monetary policy than the expansionary fiscal policy and the paper suggested for
betterment of fiscal policy so that the reach is faster, and better planned for
execution process.
37. The Times of India (2020): The news article “Scattered migrant evacuation
plans turn into orgnaised effort” reveals that how states came together to send
and bring the migrant labourers from various states. The states that worked together
were Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat and Karnataka. The article not only focuses on
the migrant labourers but also stranded students in different states. The states helped
many migrant labourers reach their respective villages. All the states screened the
migrant labourers and were quarantined to stop the spread of virus.
38. Dr. Deepa Pillai and Dr.Leena B. Dam: In their research paper “Saga of migrant
workers in India: Measures to strengthen Social security” examines about the
reverse migration which occurred during the pandemic. The paper assessed the

13
 security standards given to the migrants by the government. The Paper also
compares the social security given by the government during numerous infectious
diseases in the past and to get a better view to face the current scenario. The paper
studies about the psychological and social aspects of the migrant workers, to know
about the incentives/support received by the government for sustaining their lives.
The paper suggests to have twin fold policies which can reduce distress among
migrants and give social protection.
39. The Wire (2020): In the news article “Covid-19 reverse Migration Calls for Long
term Rural Development Planning” analyses the reasons for internal migration.
People migrate because of better job opportunities, poverty, land inequality, to
acquire better lifestyle. The article explains socio economic cost in urban areas that
have increased such as unemployment rate, population, slums, pressure on
resources, etc due to these Migrants in the Urban places. It also explains about the
consequences of rural areas as well, as it can lead to regional imbalance. The article
states the effect of reverse migration on the health centers and the spread of virus to
the rural parts as well. Covid-19 has affected millions of migrants but can improve
the rural sector in the long run, though many workers will not wish to head back to
the cities due to the mental trauma. So many new small scales industries should be
set up which can help the rural sector to develop slowly.
40. Financial Express (2021): In the news article “Pandemic impact: Necessary to
stop reverse migration” explains the consequences of reverse migration. The
article states not only the migrant labourers are spreading the virus to the rural areas
but also adding cost pressure on both the areas (area of origin and area of
employment). The labour force is reduced when reverse migration takes place and
increases unemployment rate at the place of employment. States like Maharashtra,
Gujarat and Delhi were affected as the migrant labourers left the city. The health
sector pressure increased in the state of origin because of every new migrant
labourer that came in. The article suggests to stop the reverse migration by holding
back the migrant labourers by giving them financial aid, ration which can help them
to sustain in the city.

3. IMPORTANCE OF STUDY

The study helped me understand the reasons for the migration, Reverse Migration and
Migration again. It also made me understand their Economic conditions and stress during
Covid-19 and the reasons behind migration, firstly, from the place of origin to the place of
employment, then back to their native places (During lockdown) and then lastly returning to
the place of employment again.

In short, the study is all about the after effects of the migrant labourers and the impact on the
economy of the cities/towns due to Covid-19 Lockdown in India which will take the problems,
fill the research gap.

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My study will understand the problem and it will help bring remedies to the problem.

4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

These are the following objectives which was taken for study:

1. To study the socio-economic conditions of migrant workers during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

2. To study the causes of the reverse migration.

3. To study the effects of reverse migration to the place of origin and to Indian Economy

4. To understand the factors responsible for migration after Reverse migration from their
villages.

5. To suggest measures to improve the Economic conditions of the migrants.

5. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

1. H0: Reverse migration has not helped labourers to be financially secure.

H1: Reverse migration has helped the labourers to be financially secure.

2. H0: Reverse migration has added pressure on the resources in the place of origin.

H1: Reverse migration has not added pressure on the resources in the place of origin

3. H0: Reverse migration has increased the unemployment rate in Mumbai.

H1: Reverse migration has not increased the unemployment rate in Mumbai.

6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

i) Sampling framework:
Mainly focused on the migrant labourers who are from the low strata income group. Sample
Size will be 50 Industrial units who are directly or indirectly employed in that unit by using
stratified or random sampling technique to acquire the data. Close ended questionnaire will be
used for analysis.

ii) Sources of data:

In this research thesis, Research Scholar has adopted both, Primary data collection and
Secondary Data collection

15
Primary Method: The data collection shall be made as per the requirement of the study and will
include Questionnaires, Schedules, and Personal Interviews.

Secondary method: The data will be collected through sources like Newspaper article, official
website, Research papers and Research Articles, etc.

iii) Data Analysis:

To analyse the data collected, appropriate statistical tool will be adopted to test the hypothesis.

iv) Area of Study:

Mumbai City will be taken for study. Mumbai consists of more than 52% of migrant workers.
People from UP, Bihar, West Bengal, MP migrate from their state to get better job opportunities
in Mumbai.

v) Time of Study:
The Study will be from the early 2020 to the present.

7. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Scope:
1. The paper will attempt to find out the problems faced by these migrant labourers during the
lockdown which ruined their livelihood.
2. My study will focus on the low strata income migrant- labourers who had reverse migrated
to their villages for sustaining livelihood.

3. The paper will also analyse the impact demand and supply gap in resources at the place of
origin due to the reverse migration.
4. The study will also be made on the unemployment rate created by the labourers due to reverse
migration in villages and also created shortfall of skilled labourers in Mumbai.

5. The paper will attempt to study the impact on the Indian economy due to migrant labourers
during the pandemic.

Limitations:
1. The study is limited to Mumbai only.

2. The findings and suggestions may not be applicable universally but partially will be useful
in each place with different work environment.
3. The Study is only limited with the migrant labourers who were affected due to the pandemic.

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8. CONCLUSION

Conclusions and Findings will be based on the data collected and analysed.

9. SUGGESTIONS

Based on the study that will be made, the Data collected and analysed, proper suggestions will
be made for the betterment of the migrant workers and the Economy as a whole.

10. CHAPTERS IN BRIEF

1. Introduction
2. Review of Literature
3. Importance of the study
4. Research Methodology
5. Data Analyses
6. Finding
7. Conclusion and Suggestions
8. Reference

11. REFERENCES

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