Ageing Population of India

The Quality of Life for Elderly Index mentions some interesting information about the elderly population in India. Its key findings are:

  • India is currently enjoying the demographic dividend. But the age group above the age of 65 will become the fastest-growing age group by 2050.
  • The share of elders, as a percentage of the total population in the country, is expected to increase from around 7.5% in 2001 to almost 12.5% by 2026, and surpass 19.5% by 2050.

Similarly, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s (MOSPI) “Elderly in India 2021” report mentions that the old-age dependency ratio is increasing in India at high level.

Challenges of Aging Population in India

  • Social Neglect: Senior citizens are increasingly being neglected by the younger generation due to various reasons like western education, globalisation, nuclear family structure, etc.
  • Low Funding: India spends only 1% of its gross domestic product on pensions. India’s income support systems in their current form are not even capable of catering to the elderly.
  • Mitigating the Fiscal Costs: The Indian economy still needs to mitigate the fiscal costs that arise from a rising old-age dependency ratio.

Health-related Challenges

  • Increased health-related expenses and the high prevalence of Non-Communicable diseases also create a financial problem for the elderly population.
  • Further, other health-related issues like blindness, deafness, mental illness, etc. are highly prevalent among the elderly population.

Government Schemes and Initiatives

In 2011, the government of India introduced a National Policy for Older Persons with the key objectives:

  • To encourage individuals to make provisions for their own and their spouse during old age,
  • To encourage families to take care of their older family members,
  • To bring non-governmental organizations for caring for older persons,
  • To provide healthcare facilities to the elderly, and
  • To create awareness regarding elderly persons and to develop them into fully independent citizens.

Apart from that, the government introduced other measures, such as,

  • Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) – The scheme provides an old-age pension for persons above the age of 60 years and belongs to the BPL category.
  • Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY) – The scheme provides Physical Aids and Assisted-living Devices for Senior citizens belonging to the BPL category.

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