Active & Healthy Ageing: Creating a holistic environment and support system to enable the elderly optimize opportunities
May 10, 2021, 5:14 PM IST
Ankur Gupta, co-founder & chairman, Association of Senior Living India (ASLI)
The United Nations recently declared 20212030 as the Decade of Healthy Ageing, with WHO leading international action to improve the lives of older people, their families and communities. In India, we have seen a rapid growth in the ageing population in the last few years. According to a 2019 CII report, India will have 330 million individuals aged 60 years and above by 2050, accounting for 18% of our total population. The advancement of medical science and technology has led to an increased life expectancy. In 1995, the average life expectancy was 65 years, whereas the population researchers have shown that by the year 2025, the life expectancy will reach73 years. Enhanced affordability of living, increased life expectancy, changing family structures, and burden of diseases are pushing the demand for medical and non-medical senior care. In USA, the senior living industry is well established whereas the Indian senior care market is only about 1% of its size. In India, theres a lot of scope to meet the increasing demand in the senior care segment. A focused strategy from the Government would unleash the existing opportunities in the sector that remains untapped.