ELDERLY DEPENDENCY IN INDIA: FINDINGS FROM CENSUS DATA

The changing demographic profile resulting in ageing of population has thrown many new challenges in the social, economic and political domains in India due to the huge number of aged population. The economic support to the older persons is very much dependent upon the earning ability of the adults. The study mainly focuses on the quantum of dependency burden and assesses the dependency burden in relation to the prevailing economic situation. The old age dependency ratio (OADR) in India estimated as ratio of population 60+ to that of 15-59 years is found to be 0.14 and the old age economic dependency ratio (OAEDR) is much higher at 0.23. Both OADR and OAEDR is highest in Kerala followed by Punjab and Haryana among the major states in India. Elderly dependency is high in most of the states and the economy is not prepared to bear the burden. The Economic Dependency ratio is almost three times the total dependency when we add the number of non workers 15-59 years in the dependent group and eliminate non workers 15-59 years from the economically active group in India. The unemployment rates are found to be quite high in states where the elderly dependency burden is higher. Increased longevity demands higher savings rates to cater to the needs of the old-old group. So the benefit of having a large working age population remains to be tapped through creating more employment opportunities.