Fixing the flight

The Nitish Kumar government is betting on youth commission and women's quota to tackle migration from Bihar. Shikha Shalini explains

- Shikha Shalini

For decades, Bihar has carried the heavy tag of being a "one-way traffic state", reflecting the persistent outflow of its workforce, particularly the skilled and the young. From Delhi's crowded lanes to Punjab's farms and Maharashtra's construction sites, Bihari hands have built modern India, often far from home. But recent signals from the Nitish Kumar government suggest a desire to turn that tide.

Two Cabinet decisions—35 per cent reservation for permanent resident women in state government jobs, and the formation of the Bihar Youth Commission—have been rolled out with a promise: To bring opportunity closer to home. Supporters hail these decisions as potentially game-changers, but sceptics remain unconvinced. "I don't think these decisions will truly turn a new leaf in the 'migration' story that has been Bihar's identity for decades, and it has never been a core issue in the election," says Naval Kishore Chaudhary, a retired professor and economist. His concern cuts deeper: "We need to foster a culture where young people aspire to be entrepreneurs, not just seek clerical jobs. Until Bihar embraces risk-taking and innovation like other regions, it will continue to bleed its talent."

The migratory flow Historically, migration from Bihar meant journeys to north-western states like Punjab and Haryana for agricultural work. In more recent decades, that flow has reoriented itself toward industrial and urban centres—Delhi NCR, Maharashtra, and Gujarat—where migrants have taken up low-skilled jobs in construction, manufacturing and agriculture. The numbers remain staggering. The 2011 Census placed the total number of migrants in Bihar at 27.2 million, up from 20.5 million a decade earlier. A 2018 study by the International Growth Centre estimated the out-migration rate had risen to 15 per cent, three percentage points up from 2011.