IIMAD

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Our work

Research

IIMAD is an interdisciplinary research network advancing new thinking on migration and development. Our projects span internal and international migration, ageing, climate, labour and the diaspora — generating evidence that informs policy and empowers migrant communities.

Currently

Ongoing projects

UNFPA

Understanding Vulnerabilities of Interstate Migrant Populations in Southern India

Examines the scale, characteristics and vulnerabilities of internal migrant workers across sectors such as hotels and restaurants, textiles and garments — analysing socio-economic conditions and the structural, social and individual determinants of exclusion to inform migrant-inclusive programmes and policies.

India’s Elder Care Ecosystem

A comprehensive, multi-dimensional assessment of India’s elder care ecosystem — patterns of care needs, the availability and accessibility of services, and the perspectives of key stakeholders across states. The study integrates a climate lens, exploring how climate-related events intersect with ageing and care.

European Union

Link4Skills

Addresses the global challenge of skill shortages and mismatches through innovative, sustainable solutions across Europe, Africa, Asia and America — bridging skill supply and demand through re/up-skilling, automation and migration as policy options.

Hungry Cities Partnership

MiFood — South-South Migration and Migrant Food Insecurity

Assembles a network of partner institutions studying international and internal migrants who face precarious employment and food insecurity. The seven-year programme examines interactions, impacts and remedies across cities of the Global South.

Archive

Completed projects

IIMAD–PFI Population Projections for India (to 2111)

Long-term population projections for India and its states up to 2111, covering all states and union territories. Moving beyond traditional frequentist methods, the study applies Bayesian approaches to fertility, mortality and migration.

Open the data dashboard
UN Joint Programme

Climate Resilience of Migrant & Vulnerable Households

Enhancing the resilience to climate change of migrant and vulnerable households in coastal Odisha and drought-prone Telangana. Over three years the programme tackles challenges facing rural communities reliant on agriculture and allied livelihoods.

Kerala Development Bank & the Malayali Diaspora

Determines the viability and potential of a Kerala Development Bank supported by the Malayali diaspora — assessing diaspora support, developing a policy framework, and exploring how remittances can advance Kerala’s social and economic development.

National Commission for Women

Feminization of Tamil Nadu’s Agricultural Labour Force

“Migration Driven Transformation” explores the feminisation of Tamil Nadu’s agricultural labour force as male out-migration reshapes who works the land.

SSHRC

DEMIKNOW — International Coalition of Research Centres in Migration

A coalition of four migration research centres in India, China, Australia and Canada (2021–2024). The Indian centre studies the role of families in the migration of international students.

Kerala Migration Survey (KMS)

Conducted every five years since 1998, the KMS provides up-to-date migration estimates and socio-economic characteristics. The latest round (2023) covered 20,000 households across 500 localities in all 14 districts.

Jharkhand Migration Survey

Estimates labour migration patterns from Jharkhand and the remittances that drive the state’s economy. Based on 10,674 households via stratified multistage sampling; the leading reason for migration was the search for better work (37.8%).

Odisha Migration Study (OMS) 2023

A multi-disciplinary study estimating the incidence of migration from Odisha across 15,000 households in 30 districts. Ganjam recorded the highest concentration of international migrants, followed by Kendrapada.

ICSSR–JSPS

Migration of Indian Nurses & COVID-19

A bilateral joint research programme (2021–2023) led by Dr. S. Irudaya Rajan investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the international migration of Indian nurses, building on earlier 2016–17 tracer data.

European Union (COST Action)

Women on the Move

An international network unveiling the presence and economic contribution of women migrant workers across Europe and beyond.

CDS

Kerala Ageing Survey

First conducted in 2004 with 4,980 participants aged 60+, with a second wave in 2013 covering 7,768 older adults — among the earliest longitudinal ageing surveys of its kind in Kerala.

Explore our findings

Our research feeds directly into publications, data dashboards and policy briefs.