Roughly 400 million migrants are invisible in India, 60 million of them being migrant labourers who contribute 10% to the GDP. There is a lack of critical data on circular migrants in terms of where they work, what their native place is, who they are, how they are recruited, what their daily wage is and what their vulnerabilities are to shocks such as COVID 19 pandemic. Migrant labour registry is done at the place of origin, in some states, but there is no data of migrant labour at the place where they work. Migrant workers are employed in the informal sector, usually doing low paying, hazardous, unskilled jobs in the textiles, manufacturing, construction, hotel transportation, services and domestic work. They start working at an early age. They spend the day at worksites and return back to perilous shelters in the slums, in small rooms shared by 5-6 workers, at night. Many of them sleep in the open. Urban planners miss accounting for migrant workers as part of the city, as they remain invisible.[1] Increasing their visibility is the key to developing a sustainable society.
Migration is a world-wide phenomenon. ILO report on global estimates on International Migratory Workers (2017), acknowledged that there is a lack of comprehensive, official statistical data on migrant workers at the national, regional and global levels.[2] The migration data collected by Census 2001, reported 307 million migration workers in India[3]. A majority of them are wage earners who help run the economy in the urban areas. The biggest problem with migrant workers is an almost invisible existence of these groups in the society.
In the months of April and May, Indian roads visualized a mass exodus of migrant labourers, making long arduous journeys from the cities or towns where they worked, to their native villages, on foot. The Finance Minister of India, on May 20th said that the government wants to help migrants but does not have the data to reach out to them[4]. In a population of 1.3 billion it is difficult to find a migrant labourer, who is vulnerable. Cluster Containment Strategy developed to combat COVID 19 pandemic, enforced a lockdown of about two months in the country, leaving many wage earners jobless.
It was a systemic failure. India could have avoided the human tragedy by extending relief to the migrant workers during the lockdown period, if there were established systems. Help lines were created to provide food and ration to those in need, in a hurry, but no systemic response could be generated due to lack of data. High-quality and up-to-date labour migration statistics could have enabled the system to design, implement and monitor a quick systemic response to unique vulnerabilities arising out of lockdown of the country for two months.
Economic Survey of 2016-17, the flagship annual document of Ministry of Finance in India, had carried a chapter on migratory labour flows in India. The survey mentioned that economic growth after 1980’s triggered inter-state migration in India, as better economic opportunities outweighed the cost of moving. Migration of labour is an important factor in Chinese development too, as is visible, when 277 million migrants board trains from industrial districts, to return back to their homes, every year, on Chinese New Year.
Economic Survey 2016-17 mentioned that ‘portability of food security benefits, healthcare, and a basic social security framework’ for the migrant were crucial for the migrant welfare. This could potentially be done through an interstate self-registration process. Inter-state coordination of fiscal costs of migration is required, functionally enforced by implementing inter-state migrant welfare schemes enabling digital transfer of funds. Economic Survey 2016-17 mentioned that ‘domestic remittances market, estimated to exceed Rs. 1.5 lakh crores, can also be leveraged to enhance financial inclusion’ for migrant workers and their families[1].
As a poverty reduction measure, the Economic Survey of 2016-17, had mentioned the JAM (Jan-Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile) model,[2] in the context of Universal Basic Income. Transfer of relief funds to migrant workers, as part of disaster management, needs some sort of a framework to avert future crisis.
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is the national Mission for financial inclusion. Accounts opened under the scheme at any bank or business correspondent outlet ensure access to financial services such as savings and deposit accounts, remittance, credit, insurance and pension with a zero balance. A mobile based application for self-registration of migrant labour, containing his personal information, address, Aadhar number[1], place of residence and place of work, is a proposed framework for capturing data of migrant workers. Along with Aadhar, his information could be verified by his local panchayat in the village or municipal body in the towns.
One in four Indians has smartphone. [2] Mobile phones are available to over 90% of population, though smart phones are available to only 32%. This implies that only about a third of Indian population can access services and features available on the internet, though most of the population has an access to basic wireless connectivity.[3] For instance, a survey conducted by the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID) found that while 51.6% migrants in Ernakulam have smart phones, 46% used basic feature phones and 2.3% have no access to mobile phones.[4]
M Pesa model[1] prevalent in African countries provides an evidence for successful electronic transfer of funds to vulnerable communities. A UPI-based user friendly money transactions application on feature phones can be easily designed in India. Same application can be developed for smart phones as well, for those who may have an access to internet banking. Most of these services are enabled by Cloud technology. A basic feature phone is available in India for 25 USD, while a smart phone is available at 70 USD. Two surveys were conducted when migrant labour was on road during lockdown. A study carried out by Jan Sahas an NGO, on 3,196 migrant workers from north and central India , showed that 62 per cent of them did not have any information about emergency welfare measures provided by the government, with 37 per cent of them not knowing how to access existing schemes.[2]
Nearly 47 percent of Mumbai’s population comprises of migrants (as per Migration Census of India, 2001), with a large percentage employed as labourers in the manufacturing and recycling industries in areas such as Govandi, Kurla and Dharavi. As per a report published in India Today, labourers working in Mumbai are keen to get an access to bollywood movies on their mobile phones. High-definition versions of the latest movies, old classics and music videos, are uploaded on the workers’ mobile phones by vendors in the city.[3] The workers are keen to purchase mobile phones to get an access to the movies.
Every crisis brings a unique opportunity. Bringing labour registry and financial inclusion together on a mobile based application could bring a unique solution to the problem of invisibility of migrant labour force in India, and can bring about a solution to relief response required at the time of disaster. Love for Bollywood movies that encourages a worker to purchase a smart phone can help him in making himself visible to the society and the government. Technological interventions are easy to design and maintain in India. As economic activity is restored and migrants start returning back to work in the industrial towns of India, they can make an endeavour to make themselves visible, through a simple self-registry process on a mobile application.
At the second stage of digital intervention, inter-state fiscal transfers can be made possible. Such interventions, which are easy to implement, would restore the faith of a migrant labourer who walked miles to reach him home, in the political-social system in the country. Such measures would vastly enhance the welfare gains of migration and encourage even greater integration of labour markets in India.
