**Executive Summary**
This document is an answer provided by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development (Shri Kamlesh Paswan) to Unstarred Question No. 2726 regarding seasonal migration and rural poverty, answered on December 16, 2025. The answer addresses measures to collect real-time data on seasonal migration and actions taken to address rising rural poverty levels. It highlights the e-Shram portal and various welfare schemes implemented by the Ministry.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Seasonal Migration and Data Collection:**
* The Ministry of Labour and Employment views migration as a continuous and dynamic process.
* The Ministry of Labour and Employment launched the e-Shram portal on August 26, 2021, as a national database for unorganized workers, seeded with Aadhaar.
* As of December 10, 2025, over 31.41 crore unorganized workers, including migrant workers, have registered on the e-Shram portal.
* **Protection of Migrant Workers:**
* The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Act, 1979, ensures the registration of establishments employing Inter-State Migrant Workers and licensing of contractors.
* Workers employed by these establishments are entitled to minimum wages, journey and displacement allowances, residential accommodation, medical facilities, and protective clothing.
* **Addressing Rural Poverty:**
* The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) implements several welfare schemes and programs to alleviate rural poverty.
* These include: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAYG), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), DeenDayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY), Rural Self Employment Training Institutes(RSETIs), National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), and Watershed Development Component (WDC) of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY).
* These schemes aim to improve the quality of life in rural areas by strengthening livelihood opportunities, providing guaranteed employment, promoting self-employment, skilling youths, developing infrastructure, and providing social assistance.
**Impact Analysis**
**Migrant Workers**
* **Impact:** Improved protection and access to entitlements such as minimum wages, allowances, accommodation, and medical facilities as regulated by the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act.
* **Action Required:** Register on the e-Shram portal to be included in the national database of unorganized workers.
**Rural Population**
* **Impact:** Access to various welfare schemes aimed at poverty alleviation, employment generation, skill development, and overall improvement in the quality of life.
* **Action Required:** Awareness and participation in the available schemes and programs implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development.
**Ministry of Labour and Employment**
* **Impact:** Responsible for facilitating migration data and protection of migrant workers through the e-Shram portal and Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act.
* **Action Required:** Maintain and update the e-Shram portal database; ensure compliance with the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act.
**Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)**
* **Impact:** Accountable for implementing and overseeing various welfare schemes aimed at addressing rural poverty and improving the quality of life in rural areas.
* **Action Required:** Continue implementing and monitoring the effectiveness of various welfare schemes and programs to achieve desired outcomes.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Rural Development: The central ministry responsible for rural development programs.
e-Shram portal: A national database of unorganised workers, including migrant workers, seeded with Aadhaar.
Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Act, 1979: Act providing for registration of establishments employing inter-state migrant workers and licensing of contractors.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS): A welfare scheme/program aimed at guaranteeing employment.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2726
ANSWERED ON 16/12/2025
SEASONAL MIGRATION
2726. Shri Sachithanantham R:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Ministry has taken measures to collect real-time
data on seasonal migration and its effect on rural households, if
so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons for the absence of
such tracking despite repeated demands; and
(b) the details and the measures taken by the Ministry to address
rise in rural poverty levels as indicated by various independent
studies?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)
(a): As per the information provided by the Ministry of Labour and
Employment, Migration of workers from one State to another State is
a continuous process and dynamic in nature. The Ministry of Labour
and Employment has also launched e-Shram portal, a National
Database of the Unorganised Workers on 26th August, 2021. The main
objective of the e-Shram portal is to create a national database of
unorganised workers including migrant workers seeded with
Aadhaar. As on 10th December 2025, over 31.41 crore of unorganised
workers including migrant workers have registered on e-Shram
portal.
In order to safeguard the interest of the Migrant workers, Inter-
State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of
Services) Act, 1979 provides for registration of certain
establishments employing Inter-State Migrant Workers and licensing
of contractors. Workers employed with such establishment are to be
provided payment of minimum wages, journey allowance,
displacement allowance, residential accommodation, medical
facilities and protective clothing etc.
Page 1 of 2(b): To address rural poverty, the Ministry of Rural Development
(MoRD) is implementing a number of welfare schemes/programmes
such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme (MGNREGS), Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAYG),
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Deendayal Antyodaya
Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), DeenDayal
Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY), Rural Self
Employment Training Institutes(RSETIs), National Social Assistance
Programme (NSAP) and Watershed Development Component (WDC) of
the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY) for overall
development of rural areas of the country. These
schemes/programmes aim to alleviate poverty and to bring about
overall improvement in the quality of life of the people in rural areas
of the country by strengthening livelihood opportunities, providing
minimum guaranteed employment, promoting self-employment,
skilling of youths in various useful trades and entrepreneurship
qualities, infrastructure development and provision of social
assistance.
*****
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