National Migration Survey (2026–27):
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) will conduct a year-long National Migration Survey from July 2026 to June 2027, the most comprehensive study of migration in nearly two decades.
National Migration Survey (2026–27):
- The National Migration Survey, conducted under the National Sample Survey framework, will cover nearly all states and union territories except the inaccessible villages of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- The survey aims to produce reliable estimates on key migration indicators, including the overall migration rate, out-migration levels, short-term migration patterns, the reasons people move, and the net migration balance across regions.
- India needs a new migration survey because the last NSS detailed migration survey (NSS 64th round in 2007–08) is outdated.
- With major changes in mobility, especially after Covid-19, fresh data is essential for planning housing, jobs, welfare portability, and regional development.
- Short-term migration will now cover stays of 15 days to six months, replacing the earlier one-to-six-month definition.
- The survey will track individual migrants instead of whole households, and it adds new questions on income changes, access to services, living conditions, and future migration plans to better understand the impact of mobility.
- Migration surveys have been conducted by the NSS since the 9th round (1955), with dedicated rounds such as the 18th (1963–64) and 64th (2007–08) collecting detailed information on various aspects of migration.
- More recent data on migration were collected through the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2020–21 and the Multiple Indicator Survey (2020–21).
