Main objectives of this study are as given below;

1. To understand demographic situation and socio-economic, health and psychological conditions of elderly population in India.
2. To know about various schemes and programs for the welfare of the older persons.
3. To examine standard of living and quality of life of the elders in India

Demographics of elderly population

Ageing population, an inevitable consequence of the demographic transition, is a global phenomenon. Elderly or old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average lifespan of human beings. Government of India adopted ‘National Policy for Older Persons’ (NPOS) in January, 1999. NPOS defines elderly or senior citizen as a person who is of the age of 60 years or above. Fast changing shape of population pyramid offers new opportunities and put forth new challenges as well. In UN report on ‘World Population Ageing’ 2017, it has been categorically stated that by 2030 the older persons (60 years and above) are expected to outnumber the children under age 10. Further two third of the elderly persons would inhabit developing nations. Fast declining fertility and increasing longevity together are pushing number and proportions of older persons in developed and developing countries. India, a developing country, is also witnessing growth in number and proportion of older persons in their population. Various reports including ‘Elderly in India 2021’ and ‘NFHS-5 (2022)’ by government of India, World Population Prospects 2022 by UN and ‘Asia Aging: Demographic, Economic and Health Transactions-2022’ by US Population Bureau reinforce the realism that world as well as India are registering rapid growth in ageing population. Therefore, imperativeness of concerted action to deal with the segment of elderly population in the changing population structure is need of the hour. WHO (2024) in its report on ‘Making Older Persons Visible in the Sustainable Development Goal’s Monitoring Framework and Indicators’ underlined on the need of data disaggregation and data collection efforts so that older persons are better visible in the SDGs in the context of standard of living.

Global response to ageing population

The phenomenon of ageing population is ubiquitous with wide ranging implications for developmental paradigms of developed and developing countries. Being live to the implications of rapidly increasing population age on socio- economic and health status of the elderly, United Nations embarked on planned course of action four decades ago. Adoption of International Plan of Action on Ageing in Vienna in 1982 and adoption of Principles for Older Persons by the UN through a resolution 46/91 with independence, participation, care, self-fulfillment and dignity as main themes dealing with the elderly on the globe are initial steps in this direction. Declaration of 1999 as an ‘International Year of Older Persons’ focused on situation of older persons, the relationship between generations and also between population, ageing and development. Further, the second World Assembly on Ageing held in Madrid adopted a Political Declaration and an International Strategic Plan of Action on Ageing in 2002. Every year 1^st October is celebrated as an International day of older persons throughout the world.

Elderly Population in India

India, a demographic billionaire and has already achieved dubious distinction of becoming most populous country on the globe in April, 2023. The country is believed to be inhabited by 138 million (13.8 crore) elderly persons in 2021. In fact the number of older persons living in India is higher than overall population of each of the country other than nine most populous countries in the world i.e. China, India, United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh and Russia and even combined population of France and UK.  Data compressed in figure 1 portraying decadal growth in elderly population compared to that of general population reveals that during all the decades from 1951-61 to 2001-2011 higher percentage of change was recorded in elderly population. The gap in growth rates ranged between 2.3% to 8.9%. However, it is projected to widen up to 23.4% during 2011-2021 and 31.1% during 2021-31 registering all time highest gap.

Figure 1

Thus the ongoing decade is expected to witness about five times higher growth rate in elderly population as compared to the growth of general population. Population of elderly females in the country recorded ascendance from 12.4 million in 1961 to 51.1% million in 2011 and is projected to be 71.1 million in 2021 and 100.9 million in 2031  registering 412%, 573% and 814% increase in a time periods of fifty, sixty and seventy years respectively. As regards population of elderly males, it has recorded 426%, 539% and 749% ascendance during these periods respectively. It is interesting to note that population of elderly females and males was same i.e. 12.4 million in1961. However it is projected to have a difference of 8 million in favor of females in the year 2030. If viewed percentage wise out of total population of country the population of older persons was 5.5% in 1951, 5.6% in 1961, 6.0% in 1971, 6.4% in 1981, 6.7% in 1991, 7.4% in 2001 and 8.6% in 2011 and it is projected to be 10.1% in 2021 and 13.1% in 2031. Thus proportion of population of senior citizens has shown gradual ascendance during 1951 to 2011 and it is projected to maintain the trend.

Socio-economic and health condition of senior citizens

‘Theory of Disengagement’ and ‘theory of Active Ageing’ throw light on socio-economic activities of graying population. Disengagement theory assumes that it is normal and desirable for oldsters to withdraw from society, as they age. However it is argued in the activity theory that ‘activity is the existence of life’ for all people at all ages. The notion of ‘use-it or lose-it’ is the key behind this theory. So, the people who remain active physically, mentally and socially will adjust better to ageing. Some of the points highlighting socio-economic, psychological and health condition of the oldsters are being analyzed as under;

Living arrangement

Information elicited from the informants discerns that more than four-fifth (83.1%) of the respondents lived with their family members. Five to six percent of the older persons lived either all alone or with their daughters or relatives and friends. However, as per NSS 75^th Round with respect to all India, four percent of the golden agers live alone. Overwhelming majority of subjects (92.6%) lives with their family members. However, 3.2 live with their relations and just 0.1 percent with live with non-relations.

Participation in activities

Participation of elderly in activities is a function of recognition for interaction accorded by both ‘self’ and ‘others’. As per report on ‘Elderly in India 2021’, overwhelming majority (96.5%) of the senior citizens remains engaged in socializing & communication and community participation & religious activities. More than four-fifth (86.5%) participates in culture, leisure, mass-media and sports and such physical activities. Majority (56.0%) do unpaid domestic services for household members. However, primary information collected in this study unearths that about one third each participate in domestic chores, looking after guests and others. And two third reported to be looking after children in the family. Further, about two third of informants reported that they either take it positively or accept whatever they do. Interestingly more than two third of the respondents accept their declining participation as a natural process.

Economic situation

Comprehension of the economics of the old age is imperative to understand socio-economic lives of the elderly. As per NSS, 75^th Round, nearly three fourth (72%) of elderly persons are economically dependent, partially or fully, on others in rural India. However, such dependence has been observed in case of two third (67%) of urbanites in the country. If economic dependence is viewed on the basis of gender, proportion of economic dependence is almost five times (480%) higher among males both in rural and urban (520%) areas. In other words every second male is dependent on others in rural and urban areas whereas one out of ten female has such dependence. As per empirical study just 3 percent of the elderly females are dependent on others. However majority of respondents face one or other types of financial hardships. Among those who face such hardships, majority of informants face it sometimes and one third usually. On calculating the value of chi-square, it is discernible that age of the respondents is significantly related to their financial hardship. It has further been observed upon application of chi-square that lower proportion of elderly living in joint families has financial hardships as compared to the ones staying either in the nuclear of adopted families.

Health condition

World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely absence of disease. Social, physical, economic, environment, culture, gender, personal and host of other factors determine health of a person particularly during old age. Less than half (46%) of the respondents have reported that their health ranges from normal to excellent. Out those who informed of having health related problems, two third have minor and one fourth have major health problems. Some of the minor health problems being-deafness, diabetes, asthma, low/high blood pressure, joint pains, teeth problem, cough, stone and problems relating to ear, nose and throat. However, cancer, blindness and dementia were found to be major health problems among the informants. As per report of National Sample Survey (2017-18), one fourth (25%) of the elderly persons in rural areas and one third (34%) in the urban areas have one or other type of illness. On the other hand, 61% in elderly persons inhabiting rural and 72% living in urban areas reported that they have good to excellent health. As regards disability, overwhelming majority (91.6%) of older persons does not have any such health problem in India. However 8.4% of senior citizens have reported one or other types of disabilities including locomotors (5.5%), blindness (0.8%), low vision (0.6%), visual disability (1.4%), hearing disability (1.6%), speech and language disability (0.2%) etc. The data unearths that 2.8% percent of the older persons have vision related disability. In percentage terms this problem may appear to be small but when it is converted into numbers the figure is 28.3 million. In other words number of elder persons suffering from vision related disability is equal to the total combined population of Indian states of Goa and Arunachal Pradesh or more than the total population of Qatar or Lithuania. Thus in view of the gravity of health related problems; these should be dealt with according high priority.

It merits a mention here that India has already launched the National Health Mission which encompasses its two sub-missions, the National Rural Health Mission and national Urban Health Mission. The missions envisage achievement of universal access to equitable, affordable & quality care services that are accountable and responsive to the people’s needs. The United Nations seriously viewed health issues and responded to it by declaring 2021-2030 as a ‘Decade of Healthy Ageing’. It has asked WHO to embark on implementing various programs relating to health bringing together governments, civil societies, international agencies, professionals, academia, the media and private sector through concerted, catalytic and collaborative action to foster longer and healthier lives on the globe.  However, attention needs to be paid to the fact that older people should not be considered as homogeneous groupings. Rather data about them needs to be disaggregated to better deal with the issues of their health and well being.

Feeling of loneliness

It is discernible from the data that about 45 per cent of the respondents had a feeling of loneliness.  Purposelessness in life (58%), lack of healthy company (48%) and formal behavior of family members (36%) were the main reasons for such feeling. Watching television, talking on phone, attending educational, sports, entertainment and other basic needs of children might consume most of the leisure time of the grown up family members. Individualism, materialism, ever increasing needs & demands and the feeling that oldsters are burden, boring and spent force combined with irritating and intolerant behavior may result in irreverence for older women. Majority of the sexagenarians or young-old and septuagenarians or old-old reported not to have feeling of loneliness. However, three fourth of the oldest old have such feeling. It unearths that with the increase of age there is gradual ascendance in the proportion of elderly persons having feeling of loneliness. Lower the old age lower is the proportion of those has loneliness and vice-versa. Further, almost three fourth oldest old, half the old-old and one third of the young-old feel loneliness. It might be because of lesser activities as the age of the older women advances.

Schemes and programs for the welfare of the older persons

Essentiality to prepare for Socio-economic shift of segment of elderly population to fulfill the pledge ‘No One to be Left Behind’ taken by world community to achieve Agenda 2030 as a part of Sustainable Development Goals necessitates concrete plan of action and execution. Most of the countries face major challenges to ensure that their health and social systems are ready to make the most from the ongoing demographic shift. Government of India has launched several schemes and programs being run by various Ministries/Departments for welfare of Senior Citizens in the country. Some of such schemes and programs are as given below;

Thus several Ministries including Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Finance,  Railway Ministry, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of AYUSH and Social Justice and Empowerment have their own programs and schemes for the welfare of golden agers in the country.

Standard of living and quality of life of elderly people

Standard of living can be measured more objectively as compared to quality of life. The first refers to wealth, comforts, material goods and necessities and the second concerns with personal liberty or certain other factors such as access to adequate shelter, healthcare, education, healthy diet, water and sanitation together determine standard of living. In fact per capita income, educational accomplishments and life expectancy which together make Human Development Index is an important part to measure standard of living. On the basis of descriptions given by Gregory et al. and Barcaccia et al. about quality of life, some of the common indicators include; physical and mental health, education, recreation, social belongings, religious beliefs, freedoms, safety and security, economic condition and environment etc. While standard of life is measured through financial terms or GDP, the quality of life is measured through twin factors by Kahneman and Deaton i.e. emotional well being (joys, stress, sadness, affection) and life evaluation (individuals’ perception about their general lives). Debroy (2021) released a report on the Quality of Life for Elderly assessing well-being of India’s ageing population. It also sheds light on the problems being faced by the older persons.

Table 1 Pillar wise position Quality of Life of Elderly at all India level

The four pillars shown in table 1 have eight sub-pillars viz. Economic Empowerment, Educational Attainment & Employment, Social Status, Physical Security, Basic Health, Psychological Wellbeing, Social Security and Enabling Environment.

It highlighted the fact that the best way to improve the lives of the current and future generations of older people is by investing in health, education and employment for young people today. The index has thrown light on the comparative position of the elderly in different states and union territories of the country. Further, stakeholders can identify the grey areas and formulate policy to improve quality of life of the elderly persons.  Looking at state of wellness of the elderly at all India level on four pillars, the report unearths that health system of elderly people has shown highest accomplishments (66.97) followed by Social Well-being (62.34), Financial Well-being (44.7) and Income Security (33.03). It makes amply clear that there needs to be done a lot to improve income security and financial well-being of the older persons in the country.

India has 28 states and 8 Union Territories (UT). Himachal Pradesh has attained highest combined score (61.0) among all states and Chandigarh topped among UTs with a score of 63.78. After Himachal Pradesh, Mizorum Uttrakhand, Haryana, Meghalya, Manipur and Rajasthan with a score of 55 and above are better performing states in descending order. Among UTs, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Andaman & Nicobar Islands got second and third position respectively after Chandigarh. However, state of Arunachal Pradesh with a score of 39.28 is the worst performer among all the states and UTs in well being of ageing population. Among UTs Jammu & Kashmir (46.16) ranks the last. It is discernible that smaller states in terms of area and population have performed better in up keeping well being of the elderly population.

1. Population of the older persons is increasing at a faster rate as compared to the overall population in Indian. The gap in growth rates ranged between 2.3% to 8.9% during 1951-2011 and it is projected to widen up to 23.4% during 2011-2021 and 31.1% during 2021-31. Population of elderly females and males was same i.e. 12.4 million in1961. However it is projected to have a difference of 8 million in favor of females in the year 2030. Population of older females recorded ascendance from 12.4 million in 1961 to 51.1 million in 2011 and is projected to be 71.1 million in 2021 and 100.9 million in 2031  registering 412%, 573% and 814% increase in a span of fifty, sixty and seventy years respectively. Population of elderly males recorded 426%, 539% and 749% respectively during these periods
2. Presently every tenth person on earth has entered old age and in 2050 every fifth person on earth will be a senior citizen. Population of older persons in India is more than combined populations of France and UK.
3. Every second male is dependent on others in rural and urban areas whereas one out of ten female has such dependence. Upon application of chi-square it is discernible that lower proportion of elderly living in joint families has financial hardships as compared to the ones staying either in the nuclear of adopted families.
4. More than four-fifth of the respondents lived with their family members in the area under study. However, overwhelming majority (92.6%) of informants lives with their family members in the country. At all India level overwhelming majority (96.5%) of the senior citizens remains engaged in socializing and communication, community participation and religious activities whereas more than four-fifth (86.5%) participates in culture, leisure, mass-media and sports practices.
5. About three fourth of elderly persons in rural areas and two third in the urban areas are economically partially or fully dependent at all India level. Proportion of economic dependence is almost five times higher among males as compared to females both in rural and urban areas.
6. Less than half of the respondents have from normal to excellent health condition. Among those having health problems, two third have minor and one fourth have major health problems. In urban areas, one fourth of the elderly persons and one third in rural areas have one or other type of illness. As regards disability, nine out of ten of the older persons do not have any health problem in India. Elder persons suffering from vision related disability in the country is equal to the total combined population of Indian states of Goa and Arunachal Pradesh or more than the total population of Qatar or Lithuania.
7. Majority of the sexagenarians or young-old and septuagenarians or old-old reported not to have feeling of loneliness. However, three fourth of the oldest old have such feeling. It unearths that with the increase of age there is gradual ascendance in the proportion of elderly persons having feeling of loneliness. Lower the old age lower is the proportion of those having loneliness and vice-versa. Further, almost three fourth oldest old, half the old-old and one third of the young-old feel loneliness. It might be because of lesser activities as the age of the oldsters advances.
8. Standard of life is measured through financial terms and the quality of life is measured through emotional well being and life evaluation.
9. Government of India has started a number of programs and schemes to achieve the objective of ‘No One to be Left Behind’ set by world community of nations as a part of Agenda 2030 under Sustainable Development Goals, government of India. A National Action Plan for Welfare of Senior Citizens (NAPSrC) launched w.e.f. ^1st April 2020 takes care of financial security, food, health care and human interaction /life of dignity of the senior citizens. A Senior Citizens' Welfare Fund is used for promoting financial security, health care and nutrition of senior citizens, welfare of elderly widows, schemes relating to Old Age Homes etc. National Council for Older Persons (NCOP) oversees implementation of the Policy and program for the aged covering entire gamut of issues related to welfare of senior citizens and enhancement of their quality of life.
10. National award ’Vayoshrestha Samman’ is given to Senior Citizens and Institutions rendering distinguished services for the cause of elderly persons. Thus several Ministries of government of India including Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Railway Ministry, Ministry of Communications and Ministry of AYUSH have one or more programs and schemes for the welfare of golden agers.
11. Wellness of the elderly is measured at all India level on four pillars. The latest report in this regard unearths that health system of elderly people has shown highest accomplishments (66.97) followed by Social Well-being (62.34), Financial Well –being (44.7) and Income Security (33.03). Himachal Pradesh has attained highest combined score among states and Chandigarh topped among UTs with a score of 63.78 meaning thereby the respective state and UT displayed highest quality of life of the older persons among all the 28 states and 8 UTs in the country. The state of Arunachal Pradesh with a score of 39.28 and Jammu & Kashmir (46.16) are the worst performers among states and UTs respectively. It emerges that smaller states in terms of area and population have performed better in up keeping well being of the elderly population.

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