India’s elderly population
Published on 17 Feb 2025
As per Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, a "senior citizen" means any person being a citizen of India, who has attained the age of sixty years or above. As per India Ageing Report 2023, there are around 149 million people aged 60 years and above in 2022, comprising around 10.5% of the country’s population. By 2050, this will double to 20.8% with a number at 347 million and by the end of the century, it will constitute over 36% of the total population.
Problems associated with elderly population in India
✔ Social issues
● Isolation and loneliness: The rise of nuclear family culture and the children moving away for work or marriage results in isolation among old people.
● Healthcare access: Physical limitation and lack of transportation affects access to adequate healthcare. This is more visible in rural India where there is a lack of quality hospitals and doctors.
o Example: As per Rural Health Statistics, only 45.1% of primary health centres function on a 24x7 basis. This is challenging as there is multi-morbidity in 23% elderly people in India.
● Stigmatization: The prevailing cultural divide limits the active participation in the family as well as the society.
● Digital divide: The lack of connection to technology excludes the elder population from the digital world, thus limiting access to online services.
o Example: As per reports, smartphone owners in India stand around 10% with digital literacy as low as 11%.
● Elder abuse: Physical and mental abuse on the old age population by their children, with lack of reporting mechanisms contributing to the persistence of the problem.
o Example: As per HelpAge India report, about 25% of aged persons in urban India faced abuse, mostly at the hands of their sons (52%) or daughters-in-law (34%).
✔ Economic issues
● Financial dependency: Lack of social security benefits results in dependence on other members of the family.
o Example: According to UN reports, around 51% of old age people are not satisfied with social security schemes in India and 22% of elderly face poverty.
● Employment opportunities: Ageism may limit the employment opportunities available to older individuals, making it difficult to sustain themselves independently.
● Rising healthcare cost: Increasing privatization of healthcare has made the service more costly, making it difficult for the older people to access them.
o Example: As per Health Report of Corporate India report, India has one of the highest inflation rates in Asia, reaching 14%.
Government initiatives to empower the elderly population
✔ Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana: An umbrella programme for improving the living standard of senior citizens. Following schemes are part of the programme:
● Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana: Aids and assistive living devices are provided to senior citizens to BPL category senior citizens who earn less than 15000 per month.
● SACRED portal: A platform for connecting senior citizens to connect with private enterprises for certain positions.
● Promoting silver economy: To promote innovative start-ups for developing products, processes and services for the welfare of the elderly.
✔ Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme: Pension to persons above 60 years and belonging to the BPL category.
✔ PM Vaya Vandan Yojana: Another pension scheme where a person above 60 can invest up to 15 lakh and earn a fixed interest.
✔ National Policy on Senior Citizens: To ensure financial and food security, meet shelter and health care demand, ensure protection against abuse and exploitation etc. to improve the quality of their lives.
National Policy on Senior Citizens
The National Policy on Senior Citizens, 2011 commits to ensure the well-being of older persons of the nation. It envisages state support to ensure financial and food security, health care, shelter, protection against abuse and availability of services to improve the quality of their lives. The policy covers the following programmes implemented by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment:
✔ State Action Plan for Senior Citizens: The state-level may comprise a long-term strategy for five years as well as annual action plans for planning and taking into account their local considerations.
✔ Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens: Providing grants in aid to local bodies, NGOs and other voluntary organisations for the running and maintenance of senior citizens homes, mobile medical care units etc.
✔ Elderline (14567): A National Helpline for Senior Citizens to address the grievance of the elder community.
✔ Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana: Aids and assistive living devices are provided to senior citizens belonging to BPL category or those senior citizens who earn less than 15000 per month.
✔ SAGE: To promote innovative solutions for problems commonly faced by aged people. Selected startups shall be provided with a support of up to 1 crore per project while ensuring that the government equity shall not exceed 49%.
Way Forward
✔ Promotion of senior citizen associations: Encourage formation of platforms to facilitate social interaction and promote other community engagement programmes
✔ Skill development programmes: Enabling them to stay active and make them capable of generating newer employment opportunities.
✔ Elder-friendly infrastructure: Design public spaces, transportation and buildings which makes older people more accessible to the public.
✔ Financial literacy programmes: To empower them to manage their finances effectively.
Thus, the growing old age population in India requires urgent attention and the government has been on track to improve the socio-economic condition of the old age population.