Demographic demand: Let's talk about ageing

India is ageing rapidly. Elderly care backup must spring up and palliative options expand. We need a policy push before a better gender balanced workforce gets even harder to achieve

- 

Senior citizens, or those over the age of 60, are projected to touch 300 million by 2050 in India, more than double the number today. While the elderly struggle to cope with loss of agency and capacity, the real burden of ageing is borne by the ‘sandwich generation’—those in their forties and fifties who are raising children while caring for elderly parents, with little support for either task. Not all of India’s seniors need 24-hour care, but ageing does limit activity and energy levels, and they need assistance with chores as simple as regular doctor visits, managing household help, or buying groceries. Such responsibilities typically fall to women (daughters or daughters-in-law), which contributes to a glaring gender imbalance in India’s workforce and takes a toll on their mental and physical health. Elder care can be more demanding on both counts than raising children, a fact that is often overlooked: Childcare has a more rewarding goal, while elder care is about managing decline, which is dispiriting and could scar the caregiver. Without apt sys