Handle age with care

Abstract

India does a poor job of caring for its elderly. Government can start by introducing a midday meal scheme. While the new government has spoken about taking policy measures to address the needs of India’s young population, nearly 10 crore of the elderly — citizens above 60 years of age — are generally neglected in policymaking. The latest Census data report that 15 per cent of the elderly live alone, mainly because of the nuclearisation of the family. As longevity is increasing and women tend to live longer than men, the proportion of women staying alone is significantly large: three-fourths of the elderly, or about one crore of elderly women, live alone. In Tamil Nadu, one in 11 of those above 60 lives alone. This trend has disturbing implications for the nutrition and health of the elderly and should be a cause for concern. Read more at: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/handle-age-with-care/