Of Ageing in India

The recently released Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) (2017–18) study report is a landmark in generating a sustained information base for policymaking in the wake of the rising elderly population owing to the rapid course of demographic transition that is underway. The LASI (wave-1) is a nationally and state representative (excluding Sikkim) longitudinal survey on ageing and health, with a panel sample size of 72,250 older adults aged 45 years and above and their spouses regardless of age (LASI 2017–18). This survey is undertaken under the support of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). Some of the key highlights of the survey reflect that awareness on some welfare schemes such as Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme is 55% and Indira Gandhi Widow Pension Scheme is 44% for the elderly population (60 and above). While the beneficiary share in these schemes is 28.7% and 23.7%, respectively. The hospitalisation in the past 12 months has been 8% for the elderly population. The health insurance coverage for the elderly population is 18.2% as per the LASI survey. Almost 15.2% of the elderly reported that they received financial support during the past 12 months.

While population ageing is viewed with a lot of pessimism in view of its adversity as regards social security and protection on the one hand and emerging diseases and disabilities on the other, it need not be seen as a population feature in isolation as it occurs along with a lot of other transformations in individual and societal dynamics. The population ageing being an inevitable consequence of lowered levels of reproduction and rising longevity, it also transforms the household dynamic in terms of size, composition, and living arrangements alongside the physical, emotional, and economic dependency on each other within a household across generations.