India’s Ageing Transition: Bridging Data Gaps for Elderly Healthcare

Context

NFHS-6 (2026) indicates that the elderly now constitute 12.9% of India’s population, underscoring the country’s accelerating demographic transition. The changing age structure also reveals significant differences across States, making stronger and more age-specific data essential for planning healthcare and social protection.

India’s Changing Age Profile

India is moving steadily towards an ageing society, but the pace of this transition varies considerably across regions.

• Kerala has the highest elderly share at 20.7%, followed by Goa (17.2%), Himachal Pradesh (16.4%) and Tamil Nadu (16.3%).
• Bihar and Uttar Pradesh continue to have comparatively younger populations.
• Ladakh has experienced a notable rise in its elderly population, from 8.9% to 14.6% within four years.
• Such regional variations indicate that ageing policies must account for different demographic and healthcare needs rather than follow a single national template.

Where India’s Elderly Data Falls Short

Despite the growing importance of elderly healthcare, existing surveys do not provide sufficiently detailed information on older people.

• Insufficient age-specific disease information: NFHS captures conditions such as hypertension and elevated blood sugar among adults aged 15 years and above, making it difficult to isolate the disease burden of senior citizens.
• Nutrition gaps: Older persons remain inadequately covered in measurements of BMI and nutritional status, even though ageing can increase the risks of malnutrition and loss of physical capacity.
• Unclear financial burden: Household-level insurance and healthcare-financing information does not adequately reveal the expenditure faced directly by elderly individuals.
• Limited direct participation: NFHS interviews women only up to 49 years and men up to 54 years, leaving older age groups less directly represented.
• Missing dimensions of ageing: Existing datasets provide limited insight into healthcare-seeking patterns, treatment adherence, lifestyle, employment, functional independence and social support.

Why Age-Specific Evidence is Increasingly Important

Better data is particularly important following the expansion of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY to all citizens aged 70 years and above.

Policymakers need reliable information on:

• Chronic disease prevalence and healthcare utilisation.
• Out-of-pocket medical expenditure.
• Demand for long-term and home-based care.
• Rehabilitation and palliative-care requirements.
• Availability of geriatric healthcare services.

States experiencing faster ageing will consequently need to expand elderly-oriented healthcare infrastructure and care systems earlier than States with younger populations.

Longitudinal Ageing Study in India

The Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), conducted by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), offers a more comprehensive picture of ageing.

It examines:

• Health and functional status.
• Healthcare utilisation and expenditure.
• Economic conditions.
• Social relationships and support networks.
• Biomarkers and other health indicators.

Its first wave covered more than 73,000 adults aged 45 years and above during 2017–18. However, with the first-wave evidence now roughly eight years old, updated findings are increasingly necessary for contemporary policy decisions.

Existing Government Support

India has introduced several measures addressing the financial, healthcare and functional needs of older persons.

• National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP): Provides social assistance and old-age pensions to vulnerable and low-income groups, including through the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme.
• Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY: Provides health insurance coverage of up to ₹5 lakh annually to citizens aged 70 years and above.
• Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana: Supports elderly persons with age-related physical limitations through assisted-living aids such as wheelchairs and walkers.
• SAGE Initiative: Promotes innovative solutions by encouraging startups to develop products and services tailored to older people’s needs.

Way Forward

• Upgrade existing surveys: Strengthen NFHS and LASI rather than relying solely on the creation of new large-scale surveys.
• Disaggregate age data: Report indicators separately for groups such as 60+, 70+ and 80+ to reveal differences within the elderly population.
• Make LASI more regular: Frequent survey rounds would provide timely evidence on changing health and demographic conditions.
• Improve data integration: NFHS and LASI should generate complementary and comparable datasets.
• Measure functional ageing: Include mobility, disability, dependency and ability to perform daily activities alongside disease indicators.
• Enable State-specific planning: Use ageing indicators to determine State-level requirements for geriatric care, insurance coverage and long-term support.

Conclusion

India’s ageing challenge is not simply about a rising number of older citizens; it is about ensuring that they can live healthy, financially secure and independent lives. Closing age-specific data gaps and regularly updating ageing surveys can help India move from reactive welfare measures towards evidence-based, region-sensitive elderly healthcare planning.

Source : The Hindu