NEW DELHI The labour ministry has kicked off a mega survey on migrant workers in the country, billed as a “game changer” because it harnesses a range of digital tools for the first time that could transform the process of gathering economic data in the country.
India has a rigorous system of conducting statistical surveys to capture a gamut of socio-economic data. But these are mostly done manually.
The survey on migrant workers, proposed after a massive job crisis forced tens of thousands of them to flee cities after a total lockdown in 2020, is the first attempt to estimate their numbers and details associated with their work. The absence of such a database is a key hurdle in formulating policies for migrants.
“It is going to be a game changer because not only will it give us a glimpse into the migrant workforce, but it is also the first time that a national survey has been totally digitally enabled to help with accuracy and authenticity,” said DPS Negi, director general of the labor bureau.
On March 31, the government announced two national surveys. One would track migrants and their socio-economic conditions, jobs and sectors they work in, the labour ministry had said. The other would gather job creation numbers from 150,000 firms.
{{/usCountry}}On March 31, the government announced two national surveys. One would track migrants and their socio-economic conditions, jobs and sectors they work in, the labour ministry had said. The other would gather job creation numbers from 150,000 firms.
{{/usCountry}}Last summer when a harsh lockdown had to be imposed as the first wave of coronavirus infections swept the country, thousands of migrant workers fled cities, without jobs and with little to survive on. Most of them walked down highways to reach their native villages.
The government wasn’t able to respond with any immediate help because there was no database of who these people were. The then labour minister, Santosh Gangwar, told Parliament in September 2020 that there was no data on how many migrant workers left cities or how many died.
The migrant survey, which has finally started off, has been designed to capture a range of socio-economic data to help with policymaking. According to the official cited above, the attempt to map migrant workers relies on digital tools, customised according to the survey design.
Surveyors are required to make inputs on GPS-connected handheld devices, Negi said. Artificial intelligence will play a key role in collating and organising data, which will not only capture and reconcile data faster but eliminate discrepancies.
A voice-to-text software is also being used to record inputs.
While there are no official estimates of migrant workers, a novel cohort-based migration metric, a statistical tool developed by former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian had revealed an annual “interstate migrant population of about 60 million and an inter-district migration as high as 80 million” between 2001 and 2011.
Subramanian had called for full portability of all welfare doles for migrants. The government has rolled out the One Nation One Ration Card programme, which is a digitised platform that enables migrants who hold a ration card to access their share of subsidised foodgrains from anywhere in the country.
Negi said a sample size of 300,000 households was being considered for the migrants’ survey. For the establishments’ survey to determine primary job creation, 150,000 companies will be surveyed quarter-on-quarter.
Much of the technologies behind the digital platforms being used for the migrants’ survey are homegrown, including those developed by the state-owned BECL Ltd.
The migrant survey will provide empirical results on sectors that rely on migrant labour, such as textiles, stone quarries and mines, construction, brick kilns, small-scale industries, domestic work, etc.
“In terms of socio-economic data, we need information on who they are, what they do, where they work and whether things such as seasonality affect their work preferences. Only then can we know what kind of vulnerabilities they are afflicted with. I hope the survey is granular enough,” said R Srinivasa Murthy, an economist formerly with the Narayan Meghaji Lokhande Maharashtra Institute of Labour Studies.