Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a devastating and far-reaching consequences for countries and communities across the globe. However, a month-long national-lockdown during the first wave of COVID-19 in March-April 2020 in India has drawn enormous attention from media, policy makers and researchers around the world. The national lockdown has been especially difficult for the sizable migrant population of India, whose woes were heightened by their engagement in India’s informal economy, which denied them any access to social security benefits upon stoppage of work. This was reflected in the unprecedented reverse migration witnessed in India. Hence, this study uses an analytical framework with some statistical figures to explore the effects of the pandemic on migrant workers in particular women and children and how it threats the Unites Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It also critically analyses the current policies to reduce the economic effect of this adverse shock.