ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

India faces sharp spurt in number of aged people

India will have an estimated 70 million people above 60 years of age by 2000, according to a study sponsored by the United Nations.

The study, documented in the form of a book titled, India's Elderly: Burden or Challenge, was carried out at the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram. The book will be published in 1999, declared the international year of the elderly.

''With more than 60 per cent of elderly males and 25 per cent of females emerging in the literate section, ageing is going to evolve as a priority area in the future,'' says Dr Irudaya Rajan of the CDS, which conducted the study.

The study has recommended the constitution of a national committee on ageing under the Planning Commission for implementing policy matters regarding the aged in the country.

The inputs for this committee would be sought from the proposed apex institute, a national institute of ageing, similar to the Research Centre on Ageing in China and the Ageing Research Centre in Japan.

The ageing survey and case studies conducted as part of the study revealed that "visual handicap" and "hearing impairment" topped the list of problems for the elderly.

Experts have sought allocation of more funds for private institutions providing free health care to the elderly.

The study has also called for introduction of special wards and trained doctors for treating geriatric disorders in the country.

''Old age homes, the last ray of hope to the aged, would face a mad rush for accommodation in the coming years. With joint families becoming a thing of the past and nuclear families increasing at a fast rate, these residential and day care homes would grow in number,'' said Dr Rajan.

Among the major states in India, Kerala ranks the highest (21.89 per cent) in the number of old age homes followed by Tamil Nadu (20.28 per cent) and Karnataka (13.93 per cent). As life expectancy increases, the country will have more persons above 80 years of age in the future.

The study observed that the existing retirement age in the country failed to fully tap the potential of the aged. It has recommended the enhancement of retirement age to 65 for proper utilisation of human resources.

Discussions with aged people showed that payment of income tax on the money they earned after retirement restrained them from setting out into new ventures. The study has recommended to the finance ministry, exemption from income tax for all people above 60.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report