Post Covid Work Out Regime

Context: In a post COVID world, reverse migration could serve as the new engine for growth by ensuring economic rebalancing between rural and urban states and paving the way for the digital transformation of the industrial landscape.

Post COVID Work Order as a Result of Reverse Migration

• Migrant workers will become more efficient and productive as a result of their upskilling.

• Digitized and cashless financial transactions.
• Automation and robotics: in logistics operations, warehousing, delivery (limited exposure to pathogens), and cleaning jobs.
• Balance between human interface and automation: i.e smaller-sized collaborative robots working on repetitive jobs alongside skilled workers like Cobots for SMEs.

• Automation technologies increase efficiency and global competitiveness of companies especially SMEs while protecting jobs.

• Census towns will grow in importance as rural India regrows in the national imagination.

Government Initiatives for Absorbing Reverse Migrants in Rural Economy

• Policy approach of agriculture-plus: with renewed efforts to promote animal husbandry, fisheries, dairy and beekeeping.

• Farmers are encouraged to grow perennial fodder crops like napier grass and foxtail not just on community land but also on individual patches.

• Unnati scheme: wage loss of an MGNREGA worker attending a skilling program is compensated through a stipend.
• Ordinance to bypass the APMC Act, the supply chain between farmer, farmer producer companies, cooperatives and gated communities in cities.

Way Forward

• Skill generation in non-agricultural sectors.
• Revamped MGNREGA: honing existing skills, and providing reskilling experience in sectors likely to see a surge in demand.
• Recharge the labour-surplus village economy, through flexible market linkages.
• Create sustainable livelihoods: through National mission on artisans under PPP mode, One Tambon [sub-district] One Product program of Thailand and One Village, One Product program of Japan, scientific and cluster-based approach to artisanal development.
• MGNREGA for skilled or semi-skilled returning migrants: i.e through skill mapping jobs, mentorships, entrepreneurship opportunities are created in rural areas. 
• Reconfiguration of farm value chain i.e locating food processing industries nearer to farmers and their produce.
• Develop a linkage between MGNREGA and food processing: cold chains, warehousing, logistics, etc. as it will provide seasonal job opportunities during post-harvesting operations.
• Inclusion of training module on food processing value chain in MGNREGA:  would create a ready pool of skilled workers for deployment in industries where demand is largely perennial.
• Like white-collar workers, reverse migrants’ and rural Indians: should also learn, relearn and unlearn in dynamic work and life environment. 

Conclusion: With the right policy and training environment, migrant workers can become the architects of a New India.

John Lennon: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”.