Pune more preferred than Mumbai by the migrants: WEF report

A report titled ‘Migration and its Impact on Cities’ published by the World Economic Forum states that Pune has emerged as a counter magnet of Mumbai. The high cost of living and overcrowding in Mumbai is bringing more migrants to the Pune. The report said, “Pune is now a preferred destination for many citizens in Maharashtra for job opportunities, education, healthcare services, real estate investment and better quality of life, among others, given that Mumbai is already crowded with a comparatively higher cost of living.” The report noted that Pune has been witnessing a constant flow of migration from other states as well. The states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka account for one-third of inter-state migrants in the city, while people from the north Indian states account for another 20%. The number of migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar too is on the rise, though proportionately, they are still on the lower side. Pune has traditionally been a manufacturing hub, with IT a predominant source of employment in recent years. Large-scale industrial units had seen considerable growth between 2009 and 2011. In 2009, Pune had 665 industrial units. The number rose to 1,490 by 2011, thereby adding to the city’s employment opportunities. The report said that the past trends have implied that the migration is mainly due to economic opportunities and education. In the last 25 years, the influx of internal migrants to Pune has risen steeply, predominantly due to job opportunities created by the booming Indian information technology (IT) industry, which resulted in the migration of skilled labour to the city, the report added. “Pune encourages migrants to take advantage of employment opportunities to the same extent as it does the native population. According to the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, Pune has been the largest hub for German companies over the last 6o years, as over 200 of them have set up business there,” the report said.