Encourage IIT, IIM graduates to work in smaller towns. Decongest big cities like US, Japan, Spain do

By 2036, 40% of India’s population will reside in cities. This presents significant challenges—the problem isn’t the pace of urbanisation, but the failure to sustain the expansion.

Bengaluru skyline | Commons

Cities have been the epicentre of economic vibrancy and dynamism, providing hope for people living in the countryside of a higher living standard. But this attraction has triggered a record tide of population movement, converting such urban metropolises—traditionally signs of good fortune—into places of unyielding challenges.

Seeking a better life, people have inundated cities, subjecting urban infrastructure, facilities, and the quality of life to enormous pressure. The same forces that made cities successful in the past now challenge their viability.

This emerging threat needs to be addressed, not just to reduce congestion but to spur a mindset shift—one that promotes reverse migration.

Global rural relocation

For centuries, migration—both domestic and foreign—has been a significant driver of urbanisation. It has provided new opportunities and challenges to migrants, cities, and governments. With the world set to become ever more urban, with over 60 per cent of its population predicted to reside in cities by 2030, there is an increasing shift in the way we view urban and rural life.

Remote working, spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic, has opened up fresh opportunities for individuals to live and work from almost anywhere. A large percentage of employees, especially from Gen Z, are looking at rural relocation. Surveys point out that remote working has led to a growing perception of rural towns as attractive places to reside.

Countries across the globe, such as Spain, Ireland, Portugal, the United States, and Japan have even begun to encourage rural migration by offering relocation grants, tax credits, and allowances to prevent depopulation and boost rural economies. Japan, for example, is providing families with up to $7,600 per child to relocate out of the Tokyo metropolitan area, while Portugal provides relocation grants to employees relocating to rural towns.

In Ireland, the government is providing relocation allowances, tax breaks, and financial support to establish remote working centres in the countryside. In the US, the state of Vermont is providing grants of up to $7,500 to attract remote workers to rural towns. Spain is also addressing rural depopulation through a €10 billion plan to bring rural economies back on their feet, with particular emphasis on places where more than 50 per cent of the population has dropped since 1950.

These policies are being complemented by the growing trend of remote working, which can provide a combined solution to halting urban flight and driving rural growth sustainably, providing an example that India can follow too.

Graphic: Manali Ghosh, ThePrint

Urbanisation in India

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India is rapidly urbanising. Projections indicate that by 2036, 600 million people, or 40 per cent of the population, will reside in cities—up from 31 per cent in 2011. This presents significant challenges for the future.

The problem is not the pace of urbanisation, but the failure of urban infrastructure and services to sustain the expansion. This inflow may already be worsening the situation of urban congestion and adding pressure on the social and economic institutions.

Graphic: Manali Ghosh, ThePrint

Many sectors do not require considerable infrastructure or connectivity to function well, allowing for broader distribution around the nation, particularly in lower-tier towns and villages. A stock trader, for example, may work comfortably from lower-tier cities or even rural places since his work is more linked with data and technology than proximity to big metropolitan centres.

Similarly, government offices, including ministries, need not be consolidated at one location. Dispersing offices based on relevance and significance would not only decrease urban congestion but would also ensure efficient resource allocation. Even Parliament sessions could be held outside New Delhi, like Vidhan Soudha in Karnataka, thus increasing the representation from the all of nation’s regions and reducing the burden on Delhi.

Even if this notion is optimistic and may seem too ambitious, the proposal of revitalising rural India through reverse migration has significant promise. Before this can happen, however, several obstacles must be overcome. The first is that most educated and middle class individuals would not choose to live in rural India. This has been ingrained in the societal attitude as a desire for higher education and better job prospects.

Families send their children to prominent institutions in major cities so that they may eventually find high-paying professions and settle there. This is no longer the prerogative of the fortunate few; it has become a cultural standard. However, this development exacerbates urban congestion, causing unsustainable living conditions in cities.

Reverse migration can become a practical solution only if the root causes of the unwillingness to migrate to rural areas are addressed. A key component of this shift will involve the development of rural infrastructure. Upgrading roads, electricity, water supply, and connectivity would make rural areas more appealing to skilled professionals.

Further, the promotion of local industries such as agro-based enterprises, handicrafts, and textiles can provide economic incentives to urban residents to relocate to rural areas. Developing small-scale businesses and making markets available, both physical and virtual, would create new opportunities for rural entrepreneurship, increasing economic opportunities for those willing to invest in the rural economy.

Untapped potential

Agriculture remains the biggest sector in the rural economy. It employs more than 54.6 per cent of the population, as per the 2011 Census. Due to the absence of modern infrastructure, market access, and the prevalence of outdated technology, however, migration to the countryside to participate in agricultural investment and startups remains low.

The corporate sector’s contribution to rejuvenating India’s agricultural sector is abysmally low at 0.2 per cent, according to NITI Aayog. This figure represents the tremendous potential for corporate investment in rural India, especially at strategic points such as post-harvest infrastructure (storage, transportation, grading) and the critical cold chain infrastructure, which remains underdeveloped. According to a Down to Earth report, there are post-harvest losses of Rs 92,651 crore every year, owing to the inadequate availability of a viable cold chain.

There is an urgent need for modernisation and intensive farming practices in rural India.

A critical question to consider is why IIT and IIM graduates—talented young individuals—would not choose to work in rural areas. While many aspire to careers in urban centres, where opportunities for growth seem boundless, easing urban congestion will depend on encouraging the educated elite to invest in rural regions. Just as the corporate sector needs to realise the untapped potential of rural markets, intellectuals and entrepreneurs need to rethink their roles in the growth of rural India.

I wait with bated breath for the day when these graduates choose to work in even the most remote regions, helping integrate rural spaces into the economic landscape of this nation. Only by such contribution can we ensure that our cities are relieved and that rural India prospers.

India’s future must not be defined by overburdened cities but by dynamic, self-sufficient rural communities.

Karti P Chidambaram is a Member of Parliament for Sivaganga and a Member of the All India Congress Committee. He is also the Vice President of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association. His X handle is @KartiPC. Views are personal.

(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)