United Nations: The share of older persons, those aged 60 years or above, in India’s population is projected to increase to nearly 20 per cent in 2050 and the country said equipping people in earlier age cohorts will help them remain in good health and involved in the community throughout the ageing process.
The percentage of the senior citizens in India’s population has been growing at an increasing rate in recent years and the trend is likely to continue, First Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Paulomi Tripathi said Monday during an open-ended Working Group on Ageing here.
“We live in a world where people live longer than ever before. It is estimated that by 2050, there will be more people older than 60 years than those below 15 years,” Tripathi said.
“The share of population over the age of 60 is projected to increase from 8 per cent to nearly 20 per cent in 2050. Fulfilling needs for services and social protection for senior citizens, protection of their rights and enabling them to contribute in the development process are priorities for India,” she said.
Emphasising that ageing is irreversible and inevitable, Tripathi said “we must better equip people in earlier age cohorts, so that they remain in good physical and mental health and continue their involvement in family and community throughout the ageing process.”
According to the State of World Population 2019 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), released last week, India’s population in 2019 stood at 1.36 billion, growing from 942.2 million in 1994 and six per cent of India’s population was of the age 65 and above.
India also recorded an improvement in life expectancy at birth, which was 47 years in 1969, growing to 60 years in 1994 and 69 years in 2019.
Highlighting the measures in place in India to improve quality of life of older persons and protect their rights, Tripathi said that India recently launched the world’s largest healthcare programme ‘National Health Protection Scheme’.
The National Policy on Senior Citizens envisages state support for financial and food security, health care, shelter and protection against exploitation. The National Council of Senior Citizens is the highest advisory body for policymaking on the entire gamut of issues related to elderly.
PTI
