Indian Council of World Affairs

The Centre for Migration, Mobility and Diaspora Studies (CMMDS) at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) has come into effect on 1 August 2022 pursuant to decision of the Government of India to merge the erstwhile India Centre for Migration under the Ministry of External Affairs with the ICWA.

CMMDS functions as the research unit on matters relating to international migration, mobility, and diaspora studies. It seeks to promote safe and orderly mobility of Indian nationals for employment abroad through research on mobility patterns, labour market assessments, procedural and data management issues, pre-departure orientation guidance, etc.  It undertakes empirical, analytical and policy related research on international migration and labour mobility as also pilot projects to document good practices. CMMDS follows a multi-pronged approach by organizing workshops, research studies and seminars including in collaboration with relevant academic institutions, State Governments, international organizations as feasible.

In the past, the Centre has collaborated with academic institutions/entities/organisations such as UN Women, European Union (EU), International Organisation for Migration (IOM), International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Migration Policy Centre (EUI), the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), and Maastricht University (Faculty of Law) on various projects pertaining to migration and mobility including India-EU mobility, pre-departure orientation, safety and wellbeing of women workers, labour market assessments, data management, etc.

CMMDS envisions to lead research and analysis on international migration, mobility and diaspora to support informed policy making and enable strategic interventions for a coherent and harmonised response to the transnational movement of people from India.

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