Gerontology in India

Abstract

India, with a population of 1.22 billion, has a predominantly agriculture-based economy. Its 90 million elderly population heavily depend on their children for financial support and caregiving. Research on aging in India today is focused on the medical, biological, behavioral, and social sciences. Aging as an independent subject is only taught at a few institutions. Several national and state agencies and many nongovernmental organizations offer housing, day care, and health care services. The 1999 National Policy on Older Persons is being revised, 2 National Institutes on Aging have been designated, and a pilot health program targeting seniors has been implemented. India's greatest concern is how to provide adequate health care and income security for its huge elderly population, especially the uneducated rural poor.