What the State must do for the unskilled aged

The Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC-2011) had indicated that over 40 million rural households did not have a 25-year-plus literate person in the household.

- Amarjeet Sinha

The Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC-2011) had indicated that over 40 million rural households did not have a 25-year-plus literate person in the household. With one-in-five non-literate households and one-in-four landless agricultural labour households, India must look after a generation of non-literate and unskilled wage labourers as they reach old age. Per capita monthly consumption expenditure at under ₹2,000 (2022-23) in the bottom 20% of families also reminds of households that do not get a dignified survival.

With increasing nuclearisation of families even in rural areas, old persons living by themselves on a few days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), free food-grains, and a paltry pension, are not uncommon. Older people reporting for MGNREGS work is also a reality in states like Punjab where market wages are high. All this points to the gaps in our social security system and its ability to secure a life of dignity for the old. With time, this need for care is going to get bigger as ageing with higher life expectancy is a reality.