Many people realised this in April 2020 when the nationwide lockdown forced millions of migrant workers to walk back to their villages from cities all over India.

India has always been a country of migrants. The 2011 Census puts the number of internal migrants in India at 450 million, an increase of 45% from 2001. The post 1991 unprecedented upliftment of nearly 300 million Indians out of poverty was driven by migration out of agriculture. Yet government policies continue to assume that most Indians are static and as a result unable to address the needs of a population on the move. For the poorest households in India, migration results in increased vulnerability, insufficient access to social security, and widespread socio-economic exclusion.

Globally, a multitude of studies have documented the role of migration in alleviating poverty and positively contributing to both host and home societies. In India, a lack of reliable data and research has contributed a limited and outdated understanding of these impacts.

At IMN, we aim to fill this gap through world class research and analysis, and contribute to design and creation of better policies, products, and services for migrant households. We want to cut through the noise, better quantify and understand the nature and impact of migration, and help make migration a dignified and net beneficial choice for migrants.