Caring for the elderly

Longevity dividend can be both a burden and an opportunity

Sights of dying Italian villages populated only by the elderly and empty apartment blocks in China being demolished tell us a lot about the grim challenge of unfavourable demographics. In India too, an ageing population, coupled with a decreasing fertility rate and increased life expectancy, is set to offset the country’s demographic dividend in the years to come. Senior citizens, ie people aged 60 years and above, comprise a little over 10 per cent of the population, translating into about 104 million. By 2050, however, the elderly population is projected to rise to 319 million, approximately 19.5 per cent of