The Future of old times in India

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Life expectancy in India has more than doubled since Independence — from around 32 years in the late 1940s to 70 years or so today. Many countries have done even better, but this is still a historical achievement. 

Over the same period, the fertility rate has crashed from about six children per woman to just two, liberating women from the shackles of repeated child-bearing and child care. All this is good news, but it also creates a new challenge — the ageing of the population.

The share of the elderly (persons aged 60 years and above) in India’s population, close to 9% in 2011, is growing fast and may reach 18% by 2036 according to the National Commission on Population. 

Pensions Help

• Recent work on mental health among the elderly in India sheds new light on their dire predicament. Evidence on depression from a collaborative survey of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and the Government of Tamil Nadu is particularly telling.
• Among persons aged 60 and above, 30% to 50% (depending on gender and age group) had symptoms that make them likely to be depressed. 
• The proportion with depression symptoms is much higher for women than men, and rises sharply with age. In most cases, depression remains undiagnosed and untreated.
• The hardships of old age are not related to poverty alone, but some cash often helps. 
• Cash can certainly help to cope with many health issues, and sometimes to avoid loneliness as well. 
• The first step towards a dignified life for the elderly is to protect them from destitution and all the deprivations that may come with it. That is why old-age pensions are a vital part of social security systems around the world.
• India has important schemes of non-contributory pensions for the elderly, widowed women and disabled persons under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), administered by the Ministry of Rural Development. 

About NSAP:

• NSAP is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Government of India that provides financial assistance to the elderly, widows, and persons with disabilities in the form of social pensions.
• Only BPL persons are eligible for it.

Components of NSAP: Presently NSAP comprises of five schemes, namely –

• Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS)
• Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS)
• Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS)
• National Family Benefit Scheme NFBS) and
• Annapurna Scheme
• Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) : The eligible age for IGNOAPS is 60 years. The pension is Rs.200 p.m. for persons between 60 years and 79 years. For persons who are 80 years and above the pension is Rs.500/ – per month.
• Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS) : The eligible age is 40 years and the pension is Rs.300 per month. After attaining the age of 80 years, the beneficiary will get Rs.500/ – per month.
• Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS) : The eligible age for the pension er is 18 years and above and the disability level has to be 80%. The amount is Rs.300 per month and after attaining the age of 80 years, the beneficiary will get Rs 500/ – per month . Dwarfs will also be a n eligible category for this pension.
• National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) : Rs. 20000/ – will be given as a lumpsum assistance to the bereaved household in the event of death of the bread – winner. 
• Annapurna Scheme : 10 kgs of food grains (wheat or rice) is given per month per beneficiary. 

Issues of NSAP:

• Eligibility for NSAP is restricted to “below poverty line” (BPL) families, based on outdated and unreliable BPL lists, some of them are 20 years old.
• The central contribution to old-age pensions under NSAP has stagnated at a tiny ₹200 per month since 2006, with a slightly higher but still paltry amount (₹300 per month) for widows.
• Many States have enhanced the coverage and/or number of social-security pensions beyond NSAP norms using their own funds and schemes. Some have even achieved “near-universal” (say 75%-80%) coverage of widows and elderly persons.
• “Targeting” social benefits is always difficult. There are huge exclusion errors in the BPL lists.
• Even when lists of left-out, likely-eligible persons were submitted to the local administration, very few were approved for a pension, confirming that they face resilient barriers in the current scheme of things.

Way forward

• Many Officials have absorbed the idea that their job is to save the government money by making sure that no ineligible person qualifies by mistake.
• For example, at some places in Tamil Nadu, if the applicant has an able-bodied son in the city, they may be disqualified, regardless of whether they get any support from their son. In their quest to avoid inclusion errors, many officials are less concerned about exclusion errors.
• Remove Exclusion Error: A better approach is to consider all widows and elderly or disabled persons as eligible
• Involvement of local self government like Panchayat at village level.