The subject of rural-urban migration in India and its close association with the question of rural development has been studied over a long period of time. Official data suggests that short-term migration is a rare phenomenon in India while several case studies from across the country reveal quite the opposite. This paper has attempted to identify some loopholes in the official data. It has further reviewed the existing literature and case studies to identify informal indebtedness as a prime motivation for temporary migration. On the whole, the paper seeks to explore the arenas and potential for future research on the theme of temporary rural-urban labour migration in the context of India.