Occupational Determinants of Migration Behaviour among Lanjia Saora Tribal Youth in Odisha, India

Sutej Raghavendra Kulkarni; Ajay Kumar Prusty; Chinmaya Nanda; Soumik Ray; Nibedita Mishra

doi:10.48165/IJEE.2026.62324

Authors

Sutej Raghavendra Kulkarni Centurion University of Technology and Management https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1743-7038
Ajay Kumar Prusty Centurion University of Technology and Management https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3670-802X
Chinmaya Nanda Centurion University of Technology and Management https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5573-6849
Soumik Ray Centurion University of Technology and Management https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2781-8913
Nibedita Mishra Centurion University of Technology and Management https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2111-5649

https://doi.org/10.48165/IJEE.2026.62324

Keywords:

Migration Behaviour Index, Tribal Migration, Labour Participation, Rural Livelihood, Migration Drivers

Abstract

Migration has emerged as a major livelihood strategy among tribal communities due to limited local opportunities. In the current study, conducted during 2025-26, a Migration Behaviour Index (MBI) was used to examine the migration behaviour of Lanjia Saora tribal respondents residing in Gajapati and Rayagada districts of Odisha. A multistage sampling and ex post facto research design were used to select 180 sample tribal youth. The analysis of migration was limited to migrant respondents, while the Correlation and Random Forest analyses were performed on the whole sample. Findings indicated that 64.70 per cent of the respondents were involved in temporary rural-urban migration, mainly due to financial needs and unavailability of local opportunities. Occupational variables were more strongly associated with MBI than demographic variables, while employment during the closed season emerged as a major determinant. The Random Forest model performed well in prediction (Test R² = 0.766). The study indicates that migration is a distress driven livelihood strategy and there is a need to boost rural skills and entrepreneurship development interventions.

Author Biography

Ajay Kumar Prusty, Centurion University of Technology and Management

Associate professor, Department of Agricultural Extension Education

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