AGING SCENARIO IN INDIA

Longevity, derived from scientific advancement and progress in the fields of medicine and healthcare, has been a great achievement of 20^th century. The average life span during this 100 years has doubled to 64 years from at the beginning of the century. As a result, the elderly form the fastest growing segment of the population all over the world. Unfortunately, this achievement, in spite of the progress in various fields, has resulted in an overall deterioration in the quality of their life.

1.82 million old people in India [8% of the total population of India is above60]. 324 million Indians will be above 60 by 2050.

2. 90%of the elderly in India work in the unorganized sector.

3. 75% of the elderly in India are living in rural areas.

4. 73 % of the elderly in India are illiterate.

5. 55 % of the elderly women are widows.

6. 40 % of the elderly in India are living below poverty line.

Old age brings with many social, economic and health problems. Of these, health is the most important one as directly impinges on their quality of life. In a country like India, the substantial size of population, with a slow pace of economic growth, worsens the situation. For an effective health care structure, the government needs to earmark at least over 6 % of Gross Domestic Product [GDP] but we have been consistently allocating much lesser. Thus, there is huge gap between the need and what is actually given.

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