India's Rajya Sabha members older than upper houses in peer economies

Members are also far richer than they were a decade ago; gender profile improves too

The Rajya Sabha , ten seats of which are due for elections on July 24, may be keenly watched for the age profile of new entrants.

India’s upper house of parliament has a smaller share of young people than in many peer economies.  Globally, about 13 per cent of the occupants of the upper House were below 45 years of age. The share of the young in India’s upper house stood at 7.5 per cent. Peers like Brazil, Russia and South Africa had higher representation of younger people (chart 1).

Despite an ageing population, about 10 per cent