Maharashtra to Jharkhand, jobs for local youth – politics that Indian economy can’t afford

Internal mobility has a positive impact on economic growth. So why are India's politicians turning myopic in one state after another?

Representational image | Photo: Anindito Mukherjee | Bloomberg

The agenda for the coalition government in Maharashtra and the Jharkhand election campaign promises have something in common – reservation for jobs for local people. This may look like smart politics by our myopic politicians, but it is bad economics.

• “A law shall be enacted to ensure 80 per cent reservation in (government) jobs for local/domicile youth,” says the Common Minimum Program of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, a coalition of the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress in Maharashtra.

• In the ongoing assembly election in Jharkhand, the Shibu Shoren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has promised to reserve 75 per cent jobs in the private sector and tenders of up to Rs 25 crore for local people if it comes to power.

• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has said that his government will bring a bill to ensure that all government and private-sector jobs in the state only go to local youth.

• Andhra Pradeshhas already enacted a law where 75 per cent jobs in private industries are reserved for local people.

• GujaratChief Minister Vijay Rupani has promised to bring a law that will make it mandatory for all manufacturing and service industries in the state to give 80 per cent jobs to local youth.

• Haryana’sdeputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala has recently made similar promises.

These political promises of job quotas for local youth are being made in a country where the population is least mobile in the world. And this is done to bar the migrant population from getting jobs in the states where they have migrated to or are planning to migrate.

This might be good politics, but what does it mean for the economy and for India’s development as a whole?

The 2001 Census data suggests that Indians have been migrating a lot. More than 45 crore people – over 30 per cent of India’s population – have shifted from their place of birth. But this number does not tell the complete truth.

Indians migrate, but mostly locally

If we dig deeper into the data, we find that most people move out due to marriage. Out of 45 crore migrants in India, 30.9 crore are women, which makes marriage the single most important reason for internal migration. Other important factors include the need to move with the family.

But Indians are the least mobile people on earth. A cross-national study of 80 countries on internal migration over a five-year period (2010-2015) ranked India last in the list.

According to the 2011 Census, India is only 31 per cent urban. The 2018 CIA handbook tells us that India is at 160^th position in terms of urban population’s share in the total population, lagging behind Zambia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The dominant migration strategy of Indians is to move within the state, and for one to three months. These are mainly seasonal migrations, depending on crop cycles. But even in that case, there is 50 per cent more chance that the person would move to another district within the state instead of crossing the border to another state.

State putting barriers for migrating population

There are many economic and sociological reasons behind lower migration in India. One of them is that it is mainly the wealthy people who migrate to distant places. India is largely a country of poor people, who migrate but only to shorter distances.

If we compare the Census data of 2001 and 2011 for inter-state migration, we notice that the proportion of inter-state migration to total migration has improved from 11 per cent to 12 per cent – which is still pathetically low.

The biggest hurdle in migration is created by states – a tendency that is only growing. A World Bank paper explains that, “(In India) inter-state mobility is inhibited by the existence of state-level entitlement schemes, ranging from access to subsidized goods through the public distribution system to the bias for states’ own residents in access to tertiary education and public sector employment.”

The state governments are restricting migrants from accessing social welfare schemes and other benefits.

This violates the provisions of Article 19(1)(d) and (e) of the Constitution that guarantee every citizen the right to move freely throughout India and to reside and settle in any part of the country. This is central to the idea of a federal nation.

Migration is good for everyone

The current trend in Indian politics is to restrict the inter-state movement of population, especially for the job-seeking group. In several states, there are many progressive laws and provisions for the migrating labour force from the past that continue to be in place.

Kerala stands out as the most migrant friendly state in India with specific policies like provisions for child welfare and health schemes for the migrant labour force. Kerala continues to be one of the few states where people migrate from as well as migrate to quite significantly.

It is an established fact that internal mobility is an important component of economic growth because it enables relocation of labour force to more productive locations, thereby optimising their utility. Wherever large-scale economic growth has occurred, a natural corollary has been the migration of a large population from rural to urban areas, and from lower to higher productivity operations.

Farm-to-factory shifts have played a critical role in shaping history across the world – right from the time of the Industrial Revolution to the weakening of African American slavery to China’s economic growth.

The migrating workforce is beneficial for everyone. Poor states, which sees its population move out for better prospects, benefit because it reduces the burden of a large population on its limited resources. Moreover, the migrants send back a part of their income, which also benefits the state and boosts the process of urbanisation. Similarly, the ‘receiving’ state benefits by getting skilled labour.

Let workforce move freely across states

State governments that put restrictions on inter-state mobility of the workforce must rethink their policies. They should not ignore the fact that states with the largest number of migrant workforces are also the states that have surged ahead in the development matrix. Having a large migrant workforce has not harmed states like Kerala or Punjab in any manner whatsoever.

The problem of joblessness cannot be tackled by restricting the movement of labourers. It requires better policy initiatives.

Dilip Mandal is the former managing editor of India Today Hindi magazine, and has authored books on media and sociology. Views are personal.