Migration slowdown reveals shifting patterns, rising suburban growth

EAC-PM study highlights reduced migration to metros, rise of counter-magnet cities, and calls for balanced urbanisation with jobs closer to rural and suburban areas

An estimated 400 million Indians qualify as domestic migrants, and a study now suggests this is about 11.78 per cent lower than the number enumerated by the last Census, held in 2011. Consequently, the migration rate, which stood at 37.64 per cent of the population in 2011, is estimated to have reduced to 28.88 per cent in 2023. In this context, the study released by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) does well to examine trends in domestic migration in India and associated urbanisation patterns. Instead of relying on official government statistics, the study uses high-frequency statistics