Ageing

Context: Kerela government announced to form a commission for welfare of

senior citizens.

Data:-

Census 2011: India has 104 million older people (60+years), constituting 8.6% of total population.
National Commission on Population:The share of the elderly (persons aged 60 years and above) in India's population,
close to 9% in 2011, is growing fast and may reach 18% by 2036.
NFHS 5: India reached stable fertility rate of 2.0. Therefore the population will start to age now.
NSSO: 50% elderly in India fully dependent for their economic needs.
State of Elderly in India Report: Every 2nd elderly faced some form of abuse within the family.

Governtment Steps:
1. Atal Vayo Abhyudaya Yojana (AVYAY): It is an umbrella scheme and have following schemes under it:

○ Scheme of Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens (IPSrC): Setting up of Homes to improve the quality of
life of the Senior Citizens
○ State Action Plan for Senior Citizens (SAPSrC): Each State/UT is expected to plan and strategise taking into
account their local considerations for the welfare of their senior citizens.
○ Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’ (RVY): A scheme for providing physical Aids and Assisted living devices to Senior
Citizens.
○ Scheme for Awareness Generation and Capacity Building for welfare of Senior Citizens – Training,
Awareness, Sensitisation, Setting up of National Helpline for Senior Citizens.

2. Atal Pension Yojana: Creating a universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor.
3. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana: Pension Scheme announced by the Government of India exclusively for the
senior citizens aged 60 years and above.
4. National Programme for the Health Care of Elderly: provide comprehensive and dedicated health care facilities to
the elderly persons above 60 year of age at various level of primary, secondary and tertiary health care.
5. Seniorcare Ageing Growth Engine(SAGE): One-stop access to elderly care products and services by credible start-
ups.

Theories and Perspectives Related to Ageing:

● Disengagement Theory – (Cumming and Henry): As persons grow old, they disengage from larger society which
leads to alienation. It is a functionalist theory which argues that disengagement of the elderly people from their current
roles also helps in freeing up of these roles for others who can perform them more efficiently. This theory, however,
stereotypes older people as frail, unproductive and of less importance.
● Modernization theory (Cowgill and Holmes 1972) suggests that the primary cause of the elderly losing power and
influence in society are the parallel forces of industrialisation and modernisation. As societies modernise, the status of
elders’ decreases, and they are increasingly likely to experience social exclusion.
● Age-Stratification Theory: This theory believes that social structure affects individuals and wider strata of older
people.
● Role Theory: This theory claims that a person performs various roles in life which changes with the age. For example,
in traditional Indian society, a person’s life was divided in four stages i.e. Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanprastha and
 Sanyasi.
● Social Exchange Theory: It believes that status of elderly depends on cost-benefit analysis. If elders have property,
then they are kept at home. Earlier they used to own and control land therefore were respected in society.
● Feminist Perspective on Ageing: Feminist perspectives on ageing emphasize the gendered experiences of ageing.
Older women, in particular, may face challenges related to economic insecurity, caregiver roles, and societal
expectations regarding appearance and productivity.
● Prabhat Patnaik: The State spend very less on old people as it was traditionally considered the responsibility of family,
however in the context of disintegration of family it has become the need.
● British Sociologist Phil Mullan in his ‘The Imaginary Time Bomb, 2002’ argued that those who believe the ageing
population is a ticking bomb is not true. As health facilities improve and people live longer and healthy, burden of the
aged is, in fact, coming down.

Related Concepts:
Active ageing: Process of optimising opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as
people age.
Longevity dividend refers to the potential economic, social, and health benefits that could result from extended life
expectancy and an ageing population.
Silver economy: It is the system of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services aimed at using the
purchasing potential of older and ageing people and satisfying their consumption, living and health needs.