Key facts
- A 2013 study by the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation estimated about 25 lakh inter-state migrant workers in Kerala, adding about 2.35 lakh a year (Wikipedia).
- A 2021 Kerala State Planning Board study estimated Kerala’s migrant worker population at between 28 lakh and 34 lakh (PolicyCircle, May 2023).
- Kerala’s Aawaz health insurance for migrant workers offered free treatment of up to ₹15,000 a year and ₹2 lakh for accidental death; by December 2022, 5.16 lakh workers had registered (The News Minute).
- Kerala’s first Apna Ghar hostel for migrant workers, at Kanjikode in Palakkad, was reported ready on 13 November 2017 with room for 640 workers (The News Minute).
- Kerala made registration of guest workers mandatory in 2023 and launched the Athidhi portal, with statewide registration reported from August 2023 (Kerala Kaumudi; HR Katha).
Why workers came
Kerala sends large numbers of its own people to the Gulf and other states, and its wages for casual work have been consistently higher than the Indian average, according to labour-force survey data cited on Wikipedia. Wikipedia’s survey of the topic notes that workers from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka filled many blue-collar jobs from the 1960s to the 1990s, and that migration from Assam grew in the late 1990s after the plywood industry there collapsed in 1996. Workers from Odisha came early to Ernakulam’s timber trade. Over the 2000s and 2010s, West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand became major origin states; a 2023 survey cited on Wikipedia put about 75 per cent of migrants as coming from West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha.
Ernakulam district became the centre of this movement. Perumbavoor, with its plywood mills, was described by the Times of India in April 2016 as home to over two lakh migrant workers, according to Wikipedia. The industrial belt around Kalamassery, Eloor and Edayar, the construction boom across Kochi and, later, warehouses and logistics hubs also drew workers.
Timeline
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Kerala sets up a welfare scheme for inter-state migrant workers | Wikipedia |
| 2013 | Gulati Institute study estimates about 25 lakh migrant workers | Wikipedia; Deccan Chronicle |
| 2016–2017 | Aawaz health insurance scheme announced and rolled out (sources differ on the year) | Wikipedia; The News Minute |
| 13 November 2017 | First Apna Ghar hostel at Kanjikode, Palakkad, reported ready (640 beds) | The News Minute |
| 2021 | State Planning Board study estimates 28–34 lakh migrant workers | PolicyCircle |
| 26 December 2022 | Report: 5.16 lakh Aawaz cards issued but only 374 treatment beneficiaries in 2018–22 | The News Minute |
| 2023 | Registration made mandatory; Athidhi portal launched (April or August 2023, per different sources) | Kerala Kaumudi; HR Katha |
| September 2024 | Government announces plans for a unified registration portal and app | Onmanorama (4 Sep 2024) |
Counting the workers
No census-style count exists. The 2013 Gulati Institute study, done for the state’s labour department, surveyed passengers on long-distance trains entering Kerala and estimated about 25 lakh migrant workers, with about 2.35 lakh arriving each year. Because it relied on trains, it missed workers from neighbouring states who come by road. An RTI reply reported by Deccan Chronicle in 2016 said the labour department still relied on that study.
A 2021 study for the Kerala State Planning Board put the number at between 28 lakh and 34 lakh, according to a May 2023 analysis in PolicyCircle. Other figures circulate, including a single-number estimate of about 31 lakh in some reports and unofficial estimates of 35 lakh or more; we could not check the underlying documents for those, so we give the range.
Welfare schemes
Aawaz (also written Awaz or Awas) was Kerala’s health insurance scheme for migrant workers, described as the first such state scheme in India. Sources disagree on its start: Wikipedia dates it to 2016, while most news reports describe the roll-out in late 2017. It promised free treatment worth ₹15,000 a year and ₹2 lakh for accidental death. The News Minute reported on 26 December 2022 that 5.16 lakh workers had biometric cards, but only 374 had received treatment benefits and 30 accident-death claims had been sanctioned between 2018 and 2022.
Apna Ghar was the housing answer: low-rent hostels built by the state’s Bhavanam Foundation, starting with a 640-bed block at Kanjikode in Palakkad. Its story is told in detail in Apna Ghar: Kerala’s hostels for migrant workers.
Athidhi (“guest”) is the registration portal launched in 2023, when registration of guest workers was made mandatory. A worker registers with a mobile number, an officer verifies the details, and the worker gets a unique ID linked to welfare schemes, including automatic enrolment in Aawaz. Sources differ on the launch: one government listing says April 2023, while news reports describe a statewide launch in August 2023.
Kalamassery and the guest workers
Around Kalamassery, workers from other states are part of daily life: on building sites, in factories and warehouses, at the Adani logistics park construction and in hotels and shops. Our practical pages, the guide for North Indian workers, Kerala food for North Indians and Kerala minimum wages history, cover what a new arrival needs, and the Hindi page is written for them.
Why this history matters near the NAD signal
The workers who built much of modern Kochi still need safe, affordable rooms. Government hostels like Apna Ghar have been few, so most find private rooms or PGs. Ashraf Gents Hostel on NAD Road takes working men from any state for monthly or daily stays; police verification rules for tenants are explained in our verification guide. More dated stories are in the Kalamassery history archive.
Frequently asked questions
How many migrant workers are there in Kerala?
No exact count exists. A 2013 Gulati Institute study estimated about 25 lakh, and a 2021 State Planning Board study between 28 and 34 lakh.
What is the Aawaz scheme?
A Kerala government health insurance scheme for migrant workers, offering treatment up to ₹15,000 a year and ₹2 lakh for accidental death. Sources date its start to 2016 or 2017.
What is the Athidhi portal?
A registration portal launched in 2023, when Kerala made registration of guest workers mandatory. Registered workers get a unique ID linked to welfare schemes.
Where do most migrant workers in Kerala come from?
A 2023 survey cited on Wikipedia found about 75 per cent came from West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha; Assam is also a major source.
Why is Perumbavoor important?
Its plywood industry made it one of the largest concentrations of migrant workers in Kerala; a 2016 report put the number above two lakh.
Related guides
Sources
- Wikipedia: Migrant labourers in Kerala
- The News Minute: Kerala’s Aawaz health insurance for migrant labourers benefited only a handful (26 Dec 2022)
- The News Minute: Kerala’s first ‘Apna Ghar’ is ready (13 Nov 2017)
- PolicyCircle: Kerala battles sporadic violence against migrant workers (26 May 2023)
- Deccan Chronicle: RTI finds Kerala lacks data on migrant labourers (2016)
- HR Katha: Kerala launches Athidhi portal to register migrant workers
- Onmanorama: Registration of migrant workers: Kerala govt to launch unified portal (4 Sep 2024)
Facts about Ashraf Gents Hostel come from the hostel’s own profile and photos; rates are indicative and confirmed on the call. Last reviewed . How we write these guides: editorial notes. Map embeds © Google.
Cite this guide: Ashraf Gents Hostel. “Workers from Other States in Kerala: A Short History since 2000.” Published 8 October 2026. https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/migrant-workers-kerala-history/ Plain-text (Markdown) version · quoting with a link back is welcome.