The paper aims to clarify the spatial patterns of inter-state migration in India, which has been under rapid economic development since 1991. To approach the issue, we employed the migration series data from two recent censuses in India for a factor analysis. The data was expressed in the form of a 31 × 31 matrix in 1991 and a 35 × 35 matrix in 2001, depicting the origin–destination migration.
Through analyzing the origin–destination migration matrix, we identified the following seven main regions or states: Maharashtra; Gujarat; Delhi and its neighboring states; Tamil Nadu; Karnataka; West Bengal; and Assam. In 2001, the regions of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka successfully increased the number of their in-migration states due to the rapid increase of job opportunities for males since 1990s. On the other hand, the regions of West Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu had already experienced a decrease in the number of their in-migration states mainly because of stagnant economic development. Delhi and its neighboring states were still considered a region in 2001. However, Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab have begun demonstrating unique features of migration flows, and this weakens the explanatory power to consider them as a single unit. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which have high population densities, were still playing crucial roles in providing migrants for the regions located in the western and northern parts of India.