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Social Security for Elderly in India 

By Sonal Kulshreshtha, merinews.com

August 10, 2009

India


There is no plan of action for the right to life for the elderly in our democratic set-up. The lack of a separate department to focus on the issues of the aged and their problems seems to be a further insult to the idea of human rights.

China’s Department of human resources and social security issued an important announcement this week to the effect that farmers over the age of 60 would now enjoy a monthly pension according to the income standards of their respective areas. This insurance will comprise of two parts - one, basic insurance provided by State financing and two, personal pension account paid by farmers themselves. This would benefit China's 900 million farmers. This scheme will strengthen China's social security system in accordance with its National Human Rights Action Plan 2009-10. Now let us evaluate the structure of social security in India. The greatest tragedy in our country is that we do not have a separate department of social security. This very important subject has been subsumed under different ministries: ministry of agriculture and the ministry of social justice and empowerment.

There is no plan of action for human right to life for the elderly in our democratic set up. The elderly population as per the 2001 census is 77 million which is estimated to rise to 177 million by 2025. Out of 77 million, two-thirds live in rural areas and half of them in conditions of poverty. The population has gone up and the quality of life has deteriorated. In such a scenario, the lack of a separate department to focus on the issues of the aged and their problems seems to be a mockery of human rights. Article 41 of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Indian Constitution specifies that the State shall within the limits of economic capacity, provide for assistance to the elderly.

In India, the National Policy for Older Persons was launched in 1999 which provided for comprehensive support for financial security, health care, shelter, welfare and other needs of the elderly. It sought to provide protection against abuse and exploitation, make available opportunities for development of the potential of older persons by enlisting their participation and providing services to improve their quality of life. However, there was no specific classification of older persons who were farmers, working in the organised sector or living in rural areas.

In 2007, a Senior Citizens Act was enacted but it did not cover senior citizens in the agricultural sector.

There is only one scheme namely the National Old Age Pension Scheme which provides a meagre Rs400 per pensioner per month (Rs4800 per annum) to all poor persons aged 65 years and above - an amount that is dwarfed by ever-increasing prices of essential commodities. The draft plan of action for farmers also refers to the above scheme of social security for older farmers. But don't they deserve better treatment than this? The security service could be on a sharing basis between farmers and the government but it has to be worth more than the above envisaged amount if we think that they too have the right to a good quality of life.

We need to recognise the diversity in the lives of the aged in rural agricultural areas and other areas. This diversity requires diverse policy responses from the government. We need to focus on old age rural problems and come out with an effective social security scheme for Indian farmers aged 65 years and above.


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