Kerala Migration Survey

June 21, 2022

Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, has announced to conduct “Kerala Migration Survey 2022-23”, in order to prepare a data bank on Malayali expatriates across the world.

Key Points

Data bank will be prepared, because lack of data affected the government’s welfare measures for expatriates.
As a part of the survey, a “Malayali Pravasi Portal” will be launched.
This portal will be used to link Insurance and other welfare schemes for expatriates.
An elaborate global registration campaign will also be held, to prepare the database.

Legal Assistance System

Kerala government will explore the possibility to set up a legal assistance system for expatriates, with the participation of lawyers in host countries. Government will consult with experts on formulating a comprehensive health insurance scheme for them, in order to cover their treatment as well as treatment of their families, including accidents and children’s education.

Higher education for expatriate community

Government of Kerala views the issues in education sector seriously. Government has asked the expatriate community to open a higher education institution of international standards, for which government will extend all the necessary support.

Migration trend from Kerala

Internal as well as International Migration has been the most dynamic factor in development of Kerala since the state was formed in 1956. As per available data, the state was characterised by a net inflow of persons until 1941. In succeeding decades migration reversed dramatically, with more people leaving. Until 1971, Keralites were migrating to emerging cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai due to demand for skilled or educated persons. But with the opening up of Gulf economies to foreign workforces during 1970s migration moved decisively from internal to international. In this context, the Centre for Development Studies conducted the first ever Kerala Migration Survey in 1998.

First Kerala Migration Survey

The first ever survey in 1998 showed that, around 1.5 million Keralites were then living outside India, while 750,000 former emigrants having returned. According to Kerala Migration Survey 2018, there are an estimated 2.12 million emigrants from Kerala worldwide. It is 149,000 less as compared to 2016 survey.

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