Shamindra Nath Roy

Eesha Kunduri (kundu025@umn.edu) is a PhD student at the Department of Geography, Environment and Society, and fellow, Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Shamindra Nath Roy (shamindra@cprindia.org) is a senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Shahana Sheikh (shahana.sheikh@yale.edu) is a PhD candidate at the Department of Political Science, Yale University.

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Predicting the Future of Census Towns

Vol. 53, Issue No. 49, 15 Dec, 2018

Shamindra Nath Roy, Kanhu Charan Pradhan

The 2011 Census highlighted the enormous growth of census towns, which contributed more than one-third of the urban growth during 2001–11. Since the rural–urban identification process in India is ex ante, using past census data, the number of CTs that will be identified in 2019 for the 2021 Census are estimated. The present study finds that the importance of CTs will be maintained in the urban structure, and a significant share of urban population will continue to grow beyond municipal limits. The influence of large towns on the growth of CTs will be persistent in the future, but a more localised form of urbanisation is also evident where the effect of agglomeration is less. Such a pattern may be stable because these places are relatively more prosperous than their rural counterparts.

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On the Importance of Triangulating Data Sets to Examine Indians on the Move

Vol. 52, Issue No. 47, 25 Nov, 2017

S Chandrasekhar, Mukta Naik, Shamindra Nath Roy

A chapter dedicated to migration in the Economic Survey 2016–17 signals the willingness on the part of Indian policymakers to address the linkages between migration, labour markets, and economic development. This paper attempts to take forward this discussion. We comment on the salient mobility trends in India gleaned from existing data sets, and then compare and critique estimates of the Economic Survey with traditional data sets. After highlighting the data and resultant knowledge gaps, the article comments on the possibility of using innovative data sources and methods to understand migration and human mobility. It also offers ideas on how an enhanced understanding of mobility is important for policy interventions for those individuals who change locations permanently and those who move seasonally.