According to the Census 2011, in India, what is the percentage of people (approximately) considered to be migrants (internal), i.e., now settled in a place different from their previous residence?
- (a)25%
- (b)35%
- (c)45%
- (d)55%
Correct — B, 35%. Census 2011 counted 453.6 million migrants in a population of 1,210,854,977, which works out to about 37.8 per cent — and among the four figures offered, 35 per cent is by far the closest, which is what the word 'approximately' in the stem is doing. The scale surprises people because migration here is counted by place of last residence, so it includes every short move: a woman who marries into the next village, a family that shifts from one town to another within the same district. Those short-distance moves, not the long-distance labour migration that dominates the news, are the bulk of the number. Marriage is the single largest reason recorded, which is also why the female migration rate runs far above the male one.
- (a)25% — Too low by a wide margin. It is closer to what people guess when they picture only long-distance work migration and leave out intra-district movement and marriage migration, which together make up most of the count.
- (c)45% — An overshoot. The confusion is with the absolute figure — about 45 crore people were counted as migrants, and reading 45 crore as 45 per cent is an easy slip in a question that asks for a share of a population of about 121 crore.
- (d)55% — Far above any Census 2011 estimate of the migrant share, on any definition.
The Indian Census counts migrants in two ways — by place of birth, meaning anyone enumerated somewhere other than where they were born, and by place of last residence, meaning anyone whose previous usual residence differs from the present one. The second is the wider and more commonly quoted measure, and it is the basis of the figure this question is built on. The Census also records the reason for migration, with categories for work and employment, business, education, marriage, movement with a household and others.
This is one of the few items in this paper where the key and the underlying data are worth stating side by side. The Census figure is 45.36 crore migrants, about 37.8 per cent of the population; the official answer is 35 per cent, which is the nearest of the four options and is presented as approximate in the stem itself. A candidate who remembered the precise figure would still have reached the same option, since 45 per cent is more than seven points away. The lesson for the exam is to anchor on the absolute number, 45 crore against a population of 121 crore, and convert; the lesson for the subject is that the migration story in the data is largely short-distance and largely female, driven by marriage rather than by work.
- Census 2011 counted 453.6 million migrants against a total population of 1,210,854,977 — about 37.8 per cent.
- The count is by place of last residence, so intra-district moves are included.
- Marriage is the single largest recorded reason for the migration of women in India.
- The Census records reasons for migration under work and employment, business, education, marriage, moved with household, moved after birth and others.
- The other Census measure of migration is by place of birth, which gives a smaller figure than place of last residence.
Remember the absolute figures and convert; do not try to recall the percentage directly.
- Reading '45 crore migrants' as '45 per cent of the population'.
- Picturing only long-distance labour migration and underestimating the total; most recorded moves are short.
- Mixing the place-of-birth measure with the place-of-last-residence measure, which give different totals.
As an approximate share, or as a statements item on the streams and reasons for internal migration in India.
CDS_GK_2020_I_Q502020Which one of the following is the biggest cause of incidence of migration of female persons in India?
- (a) Employment
- (b) Education
- (c) Marriage
- (d) Business
Answer(c) Marriage
The explanation of the number, asked earlier in the same paper. Marriage migration is what makes the recorded share so large, and the two items should be read together.
According to the Census 2011, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. A person who can only read but cannot write, is not literate. 2. A person aged seven years and above, who can both read and write with understanding in any language is treated as literate. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(c) Both 1 and 2
The same census tested on a definition rather than a total. Both items reward the same discipline — learn what the Census actually counts before trying to remember how much of it there is.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In the Indian Census, a person is counted as a migrant by place of last residence if
- (a)the person was born outside India
- (b)the person's previous usual place of residence differs from the present one
- (c)the person changes occupation
- (d)the person moves outside the State of birth only
Answer(b) the person's previous usual place of residence differs from the present one — a definition wide enough to include short moves within the same district.
- practice — not a real PYQ
According to Census 2011, the largest single reason recorded for the migration of women in India is
- (a)employment
- (b)education
- (c)marriage
- (d)business
Answer(c) marriage — which is why the recorded migration rate for women is much higher than for men.