Exclusive: Karnataka’s migrant base is the most educated, youngest in India

Only 4.6% of Karnataka’s urban population is from outside the state, but the quality of this workforce earns it large economic dividends. Photo: AP
Only 4.6% of Karnataka’s urban population is from outside the state, but the quality of this workforce earns it large economic dividends. Photo: AP

Summary

As the Congress government in Karnataka mulls a locals-only jobs quota, promising data on the state's migrants could cause it to think twice.

Karnataka’s migrant base is younger and more educated than that of any other state in India, a Mint analysis of granular data from a 2020-21 National Sample Survey shows. A quarter of people who have moved to Karnataka from outside the state are graduates or above. The median age of those who have migrated to the state for employment-related reasons is 30, the lowest of any state.

These are significant in the backdrop of a controversial bill floated by the Karnataka government earlier this week that aims to legislate stringent quotas for locals in the workforce, including in the private sector.

While only 4.6% of Karnataka’s urban population is from outside the state (lower than the national average of 7.4%), the quality of this workforce earns it large economic dividends. In Bengaluru, the country’s Silicon Valley, employers and employees alike erupted in protest over the idea of such a quota, forcing the government to halt the legislation pending consultations with industry.

Also read | Karnataka: One step too far with local-only quota

The analysis is based on a representative government survey conducted during the covid-19 lockdown, so the actual number of migrants could be different. However, there's no other large-scale, recent and reliable data available on migration in India. The state-wise comparisons include only 21 major states and Union territories with a sufficient sample size (but national figures include all states and Union territories.)

The survey defined a migrant as an individual who had spent at least six straight months in a village, town or country different from their current place of residence – that is, where they were surveyed.

Overall, 22.3% of Karnataka’s population comprised such people, but as is the case across the country, most of them migrants from other parts of the state. Just 2.2% of the state's population had come from another state or country. Around 76% of all male migrants from outside Karnataka said they came there for employment and 5.2% said they were there for studies. Among female migrants, 51% had come to the state after marriage, 16.8% for a job-related reason, and 3.3% for studies.

Nearly one-sixth (16.3%) of all male migrants who moved to Karnataka for a job were from Andhra Pradesh, the biggest source state, followed by Maharashtra (12.4%), Bihar (11.8%) and Rajasthan (9.2%).

Also read: How Indians move within the country, in charts

However, Karnataka accounts for a tiny share of Indians who live in a state different from their own (3%). Maharashtra alone accounts for as many as 13.1% such Indians, followed by Uttar Pradesh (11.8%), West Bengal (8.5%) and Delhi (7%). Delhi has by far the highest share of external migrants in its population (21.3%)—no other state crosses into double digits.

However, for workers, Karnataka offers better prospects than several major states. Nationally, as many as 56% of earning migrants (including those who moved within their state) reported seeing an increase in income after moving, the data showed. In Karnataka, the share was 60%.

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
more

topics

MINT SPECIALS