Sixth Kerala migration survey begins

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - The sixth edition of the Kerala Migration Survey (KMS 2010), which will monitor the status of migration and remittances by non-resident Keralites to the state, has begun.

It will be conducted by the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), like the previous five editions, and will cover 15,000 sample households.

S. Irudaya Rajan, chair professor and project director, of Research Unit on International Migration in CDS, told IANS that the 2010 survey will cover about 15,000 representative sample households from 300 select localities spread all over the state.

“This survey would assess not only the trends in migration and remittance but also the socio-economic scenario in the state in terms of education, employment, unemployment, health and insurance, household indebtedness, consumption, savings and investment,” said Rajan.

The survey is financed by the Department of Non-Resident Keralite Affairs, government of Kerala, and executed by the ministry of overseas Indian affairs research unit on international migration at CDS.

“In KMS 2010, an attempt will be made to evaluate the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) aimed at providing health insurance to the poor. It will also collect information on the type of ration cards held by households, enrolment details, healthcare consumption, provider choice and access to healthcare services and public satisfaction with RSBY,” added Rajan.

The survey is likely to be completed by April 2011 and the preliminary report is expected in the second half of 2011.