Ageing society & welfare of the elderly

Story hook

India is famous for being young — the country of the "demographic dividend," with a median age of around 28. But hidden inside that youthful story is a quieter one that will define the second half of this century: India is also greying, fast. Today about 104 million Indians are over 60 — already more than the entire population of most countries. By 2050, that number will more than triple to ~347 million, roughly one in five Indians. India will then have more elderly people than children under 15.

And this ageing is arriving before India gets rich — the worry that India may "grow old before it grows rich." The old social safety net — the joint family — is fraying as children migrate for work and families nuclearise. Many elderly face a triple squeeze: no pension, rising health needs with too few geriatric doctors, and loneliness. The burden falls hardest on elderly women, who live longer and are more often widowed and dependent — the feminisation of ageing.

India has begun to respond — with a law that makes children legally bound to maintain their parents (the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007), an expanding bouquet of schemes, and a dawning realisation that the elderly are not just a burden but a "silver economy" of opportunity. Ageing is the demographic transition India cannot afford to ignore.

Why this matters for UPSC

A rising, high-yield GS-I (society) and GS-II (social-sector policy) topic. Prelims tests the Maintenance & Welfare of Parents Act 2007, the National Policy for Older Persons, and elderly schemes (Rashtriya Vayoshri, AVYAY, Ayushman for 70+). Mains and interviews use the demographic ageing + collapsing joint family + silver economy framing. It complements the demographic-dividend and family topics.