CAUSES AND IMPACT OF LABOR MIGRATION IN INDIA

Migration from one area to another in search of improved livelihoods is a key feature of human nature. While some regions and sectors fall behind in their capacity to support populations, others move ahead and people migrate to access these emerging opportunities. The regional disparity arises due to several reasons. Some of them are natural and some are man-made. It is quite natural that investment would be attracted in developed regions only. Industrialization widens the gap between rural and urban areas, inducing a shift of the workforce towards industrializing areas. There is extensive debate on the factors that cause populations to shift, from those that emphasize individual rationality and household behavior to those that cite the structural logic of capitalist development. Moreover, several studies show that the process of migration is also influenced by social, cultural and economic factors and outcomes can be vastly different for men and women, for different groups and different locationsThe paper considers the issue of labour migration which is very significant for economic development of any nation. It presents in a nutshell the trends and patterns of migration in India, its causes and impacts as discussed in the literature so far. After doing a rigorous survey of the literature we observe that the issue is, in some sense, neglected and its importance is underestimated. Hence, the paper would serve as a useful guide to the future research on this area.