New Nepali migrants entering India’s labour market are typically 15\u201320 years old, though the overall median age is 35, according to Keshav Bashyal of Kathmandu’s Tribbuvan University. Joblessness and rising inequality drive migration, especially among the poor, rural and less educated, whose labour force participation is already low.<\/p>\n
“Most come from poorer backgrounds, working in construction and religious sites in Uttarakhand, on farms in Punjab, in factories in Gujarat, and in hotels across Delhi and beyond,” Dr Bashyal told me. <\/p>\n
This steady flow of young migrants feeds into a sizable, though largely invisible, workforce in India.<\/p>\n
“Due to the open border, it is difficult to know the exact number of Nepali citizens working and living in India but is estimated to be around 1-1.5 million,” says Jeevan Sharma, a political anthropologist of South Asia at The University of Edinburgh.<\/p>\n
Nepal’s reliance on its migrants is staggering. <\/p>\n
In 2016-17, remittances made up over a quarter of Nepal’s GDP, and by 2024 they accounted for 27\u201330%. Over 70% of households receive them. Remittances now comprise a third of household income, up from 27% three decades ago. Most of this comes Nepali citizens working in the Gulf and Malaysia, with India contributing about a fifth. All this makes Nepal the world’s fourth most remittance-dependent country.<\/p>\n
“Remittances from India go to the poorest households in Nepal although per capita remittance is much lower than what migrants going to the Gulf or Southeast Asia sent,” says Prof Sharma. “Without it, Nepal’s economy would suffer significantly.”<\/p>\n
Yet, for all their economic importance, Nepali migrants in India often live precariously. <\/p>\n