It
may appear to be odd that India’s nearly 150-million 60-plus-year old
population, generally politically active though not always quite vocal, is
among the country’s most neglected by the society and the government. There is
no worthwhile social security for the aged. A small section live on their
income from savings, a large part of which is routinely spent on doctors and
medicines that come under no insurance cover. A still smaller section tries to
live on their pensions. They are mostly retired public servants and teachers.
Industrial pensions are small and generally fixed. The minimum pension for a
retired industrial worker, fixed by the government, is farcically low at only
Rs.1,000 per month. The census analysis puts the life expectancy, for those
above 60 years, of an average remaining length of about 18 years (16.9 years
for males and 19.0 for females) and for those at 70, it is less than 12 years
(10.9 years for males and 12.3 for females). The crime against the old, often
by their next-of-kins, and others, including servants, thieves and tenants, is continuously
rising, mainly because of the social neglect.
For
the self-supporting old, living on pensions or interest incomes on savings or
rental income, the government’s taxation department treats them more shabbily
than other assesses. Until the age of 80, they are forced to pay same rates of
taxes on their income as others, offering little relief on their rising medical
bills and other age-related burdens. For instance, a chronic old-aged diabetic
may be spending Rs.10,000 or more per month on medicines, insulin injections,
daily blood sugar measures and routine quarterly tests, including retinopathy,
neuropathy, nephropathy and cardiac conditions that attract no deduction in his
or her tax computation. Considering the fact that life expectancy at the age of
70 is less than 12 years, the government should have entirely spared this
category from individual income tax, or reduce them substantially at a flat
rate of five percent at source. Adequate social security benefits could have
been offered to those issueless or having no support from others. The
constitutional ‘right to live’ becomes meaningless for the old in the absence
of societal and government care and compassion. Surprisingly, few in the
government and political life have ever assessed the value of goodwill from the
old, who rarely miss an election as they have nothing more worthwhile to
perform in the management of their state and country. Few have assessed what
the old think of the elections and candidates and how they influence the mind
of younger ones.
It
may be interesting that the old is increasingly becoming a strong new block in
the country’s electoral system — from panchayats to parliament. The number is
steadily growing as also their disenchantment with the governmental system that
tends to consider them as a useless spent force. A report released by the UN
Population Fund and HelpAge India suggests that the number of elderly persons
is expected to grow to 173 million by 2026.
Both the share and size of elderly population is increasing over time.
From 5.6 percent of the population in 1961, the proportion of the old had
increased to 8.6 percent in 2011. It was 8.2 percent for males and 9.0 percent
for females. About 71 per cent of elderly population lived in rural areas while
29 percent in urban areas. Kerala showed the highest life expectancy at birth,
followed by Maharashtra and Punjab, as per the SRS Report 2009-13. The most
interesting aspect of the report mentions a high literacy rate among the
elderly people in India. From the socio-political angle, this deserves to be
particularly noted in the context that the average adult illiteracy rate in
India is as high as 15 percent. The literates among elderly persons increased
from 27 percent in 1991 to 44 percent in 2011. The literacy rate among elderly
females is less than half of the literacy rate among elderly males. The
literacy rate is expected to surpass 60 percent post-2021 Census.
The
officialdom may not know that not many of the country’s elderly population is
even aware that there exists a full-fledged department in the government called
the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The department is hardly in the
news for its effort to ensure equitable treatment to such sections of society
which has suffered social inequalities, exploitation, discrimination and
injustice. On paper, the ministry has a ‘Social Defence Division’ which is
supposed to cater mainly to the requirements of ‘Senior Citizens,’ besides
victims of alcoholism and substance abuse, transgender persons and beggars /
destitute. What a combination of job descriptions of the division! The ministry
is supposed to develop and implement acts, policies and programmes for welfare
of senior citizens in collaboration with state governments and union territory
administrations to “ensure that senior citizens may lead a secured, dignified
and productive life.” Few in the government care what the ministry does in
practice. The country’s growing elderly population continues to be among the
most neglected and exploited. The Ministry of Statistics said that the number
of citizens over the age of 60 jumped 35.5 percent between the 2001 and 2011
censuses. This is almost twice the rate at which the overall population grew
(17.7 percent) in the same period. “The trend clearly reveals that ageing will
emerge as a major social challenge in the future,” warned the Ministry of
Statistics and Programme Implementation. The population ageing may be a global
phenomenon, but nowhere in well-governed countries, the elderly face such social and government
neglect and exploitation as in India. There is little effort from the
government to improve their hapless life and living conditions by providing at
least an assured income to support themselves for their healthcare and other
dire necessities. They also deserve a social role and recognition, and
opportunities for creative and effective use of free time. (IPA Service)
The post India’s Fast Ageing Population appeared first on Newspack by India Press Agency.
