Reversing the Migration Curve

Every year, nearly nine million workers leave Uttar Pradesh in search of better opportunities. What would it take for them to stay?

Drawing on migration theory, government data, and field research, this book examines Uttar Pradesh's bold effort to build a rural enterprise ecosystem that creates jobs and reduces distress migration. It introduces the STACK Model, seven institutional reform proposals, and the HUM-UP Green Mission-a long-term framework for enterprise-led growth. Blending economic analysis, public policy, and history, it traces the journey from the Girmitiya migration of Purvanchal to today's Lakhpati Didis, whose success reflects the promise of local enterprise. Looking ahead to Census 2031 as a key milestone, the book argues that the foundations for reversing migration are now in place. The journey is far from over, but for the first time, a state is creating the conditions that allow its people to choose to stay.

"For 190 years, the poor of Purvanchal left on a piece of paper called a Girmit. This book is about the generation that may finally choose not to."

- Authors.