With factories and workplaces shut down due to the lockdown imposed in the country, millions of migrant workers had to deal with the loss of income, food shortages and uncertainty about their future.

[12] The International Labour Organization (ILO) predicted that due to the pandemic and the lockdown, about 400 million workers would be poverty-stricken.

[17] According to research published in the Royal Geographical Society, the workers who have been treated the worst are from areas like Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, in which the indigenous population's natural resources were extracted by outsiders.

Its state government imposed a lockdown on 20 March 2020 in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Nagpur, leaving the migrant workers with no work.

In addition to this, the scheme also required biometric authentication, which was discontinued due to fears of spreading the virus through common fingerprint sensors.

[23] A survey published by ‘The Hindu’ states that 96% migrant workers did not get rations from the government, and 90% of them did not receive wages during the lockdown.

[25] He later stated in Parliament on 15 September 2020 that no data was maintained on the number of migrants in the country who had either died, or become unemployed, as a result of the pandemic.

[33] On 31 March, as many as 120 migrant workers were allegedly beaten up by the police in Gujarat and forcefully rounded up in a single lorry and dropped in Maharashtra, despite being wounded.

[48] On 29 March, the government issued sweeping orders directing that the landlords should not demand rent during the period of the lockdown and that employers should pay wages without deduction.

[52] On 14 July, the Ministry of Human Resource Development requested the state governments to create a database of children in rural areas who have migrated.

[59] However, according to the Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN), migrants were confused about the exact procedures to register themselves for travel.

[60] In late March, the Uttar Pradesh government decided to arrange buses at Delhi's Anand Vihar bus station to take the migrants back to their villages for free.

[48] Condition in the buses is generally poor, with social distancing being impossible due to overcrowding and higher fares being charged than promised.

[62] On 1 May, the central government permitted the Indian Railways to launch "Shramik Special" trains for the migrant workers and others stranded.

[64] The central government then faced criticism from the opposition, with the Indian National Congress promising to sponsor the tickets of the migrants on 4 May.

[77] Others who received food packets and water reported that the provisions were simply dumped at the entrances, leaving workers fighting with each other for their share.

[87] By 3 April, the central government had released ₹11,092 crore to states and UTs under the NDRF, to fund food and shelter arrangements for migrants.

[96] Many states reported high numbers of positive cases of COVID-19 among the migrants returning home as lockdown restrictions eased.

Migrant workers who decided to stay back during the exodus faced assault from their neighbours, who accused them of being infected with coronavirus.

[100] Upon their return to their hometowns and villages, they were treated with either fear or a "class bias", being hosed down with disinfectants or soap solution in some cases.

[107] The Court asked the central government to file a status report with respect to the situation of migrant workers.

[108][109] In its report, the central government stated that the migrant workers, apprehensive about their survival, moved in the panic created by fake news that the lockdown would last for more than three months.

[110][111] A plea requesting payment of minimum wage was rejected by the Court on 21 April, on the grounds of workers already being provided free meals.

Further, the central government stated that inter-state transport had already been provided to the migrants and requested them to wait their turn instead of choosing to walk.

It thus ordered the Centre and States to provide free food, shelter and transport to stranded migrant workers.

[114] Hours before this ruling, senior lawyers from Mumbai and Delhi wrote a strongly-worded letter to the Court, regarding its "self-effacing deference" towards the government thus far.

[118] The causes for these deaths have been reported as with reasons ranging from starvation, suicides,[119] exhaustion,[120] road and rail accidents,[121] police brutality[122] and denial of timely medical care.

[125][126] Notably, on 8 May, a freight train killed 16 migrants who had stopped to rest on railway tracks near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

[96] In response, the ILO expressed "deep concern" to PM Modi and requested him to instruct the central and state governments to uphold commitments (towards labour laws) made by India.

[139] Negative comparisons have been made between the situation of many domestic migrants and Indians abroad: Shekhar Gupta criticized the media and Modi for focusing on the Vande Bharat Mission and thus the more affluent at the expense of the working class.