The longevity imperative

India is living longer.

- DR PREETHA REDDY

It is a remarkable outcome shaped by decades of progress in medicine, wider access to care, and a growing consciousness around health. Life expectancy has more than doubled over the past six decades. Yet, progress often brings with it a more complex question. The years being added to life are not always matched by the quality with which those years are lived.

At the centre of this shift lies cognitive health, an area that has remained relatively underemphasised in public discourse. India is ageing at a pace it has not experienced before. By 2050, nearly one in five Indians will be over the age of 60—amounting to more than 300 million people. This demographic transition will reshape not just health care systems, but families, communities, and the meaning of independence in later life.