Youth Migration in Emerging India

Migration is a natural outcome when society faces a shortage of resources or opportunities. While migration in India has been studied extensively, these discussions often do not include one of the most important stakeholders involved--young people. Youth constitute a valuable human capital resource base for India, and migration of young people has become more frequent as a result of neoliberal policies, coupled with social, political, economic and demographic conditions. Youth Migration in Emerging India focuses on this challenging and neglected aspect of Indian society. Although marriage-based migration dominates youth migration in India, this volume focuses on the significance of education and employment-related migration through the lens of the youth. Relying on primary data collected from the field and secondary data from sources like the Census of India and National Sample Survey Office, the authors analyse the causes of youth migration and its impacts on the Indian economy. Young people opt for migration to improve their economic prospects, and the demand for skilled youth is growing. In this context, young people themselves become a pull factor for migration, as the remittances they send home improve both their economic prospects and the Indian economy. The book focuses on several aspects of youth migration, ranging from distress migration to Indian cities for survival to the voluntary move made by affluent, urban Indians for higher education abroad. Also studied are the latest National Youth Policies of the government, which identifies migrant youth as a target group. An important contribution to the area of youth and migration studies, this volume will be useful to students and scholars of migration studies, development studies, public policy and planning, and policy think tanks.