Senior Citizens

Elderly people over 60 years of age constitute about eight percent of the country’s population. Considering that Assam’s population today is 3.63 crore, there would be around 29 lakh elderly people in the state. The ageing of the population has profound social, economic, and political implications. According to government estimates, the life expectancy in Assam at 60 years of age is 16.5 years for males and 17.6 years for females. This means a male person of 60 years of age in Assam today would live up to 76 years and six months, while a woman would live at least one year longer, up to 77 years and seven months. Unfortunately, not all elderly persons in Assam are in good health or in sound economic condition. This is because, while a couple of lakh elderly persons get pensions after retiring from government service, the large majority of elderly persons are not pensioners. According to government estimates, in Assam, over 77 percent of elderly females and over 42 percent of elderly males living in rural areas are financially and economically dependent on others. Moreover, the illness perception among the elderly is reported as a little over 38 percent for men and 41 percent for women, which are above the national average of 31 percent. While the Social Welfare Department of Assam has taken up some programmes to provide them support to lead a productive, proactive, and healthy life, these do not appear to be adequate. Two such important measures are the Maintenance of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2012, and the Assam Employees’ Parent Responsibility and Norms for Accountability and Monitoring Act, 2017, popularly known as the PRANAM Act. In 2016, the Assam government also declared the State Policy for Senior Citizens in line with the National Policy for Senior Citizens, 1999. Subsequently, a Senior Citizens Welfare Council was formed to monitor and advise on issues related to the welfare of senior citizens and to suggest improvements to the policies wherever necessary. What this council has been able to do so far is not exactly known. In a convention of senior citizens organised by the Council in Guwahati, issues that came to the fore included proper identification and enlisting of all senior citizens, ensuring and strengthening the social security mechanism, including healthcare, enhancing better financial support (pension), covering all non-retiree senior citizens, and creating productive engagement for senior citizens on the basis of their expertise and physical capability. It was also pointed out that senior citizens possess a vast treasure of knowledge, and their knowledge and experience should be used as guiding lights to run society. As suggested by Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, the knowledge and domain expertise of senior citizens should be utilised to lead society in a constructive way.