Quality of Life for Elderly Index: EAC-PM

In News 

The Quality of Life for Elderly Index was released by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM). 

Quality of Life for Elderly Index

• The Index has been created by the Institute for Competitiveness but released by EAC-PM.
• Focus of report:
  • On the issues and problems often not mentioned but faced by the elderly.
  • The regional patterns of ageing across Indian States.
  • Assessment of the overall ageing situation in India.
  • How well India is doing to support the well-being of its ageing population.
• Pillars of index:
  • Financial Well-being
  • Social Well-being
  • Health System and 
  • Income Security
• These 4 pillar are further subdivided in 8 sub pillars:
  • Economic Empowerment
  • Educational Attainment & Employment
  • Social Status
  • Physical Security
  • Basic Health
  • Psychological Well Being
  • Social Security and 
  • Enabling Environment.

Need of the index and study          

• To understand the needs and opportunities of the elderly population in India: 
  • Definitely pensions and other forms of income support are critical but  not adequate.
  • This index will help in rising above narrow policy thinking and foster debates about the needs of this age group.
• Best way to improve the lives of the current and future generations of older people: 
  • The report can provide substantial data about the benefits of investing in health, education and employment for young people today.
• Demographic Transition:
  • India is often portrayed as a young society, with a consequent demographic dividend. 
  • But, as with every country that goes through a fast process of demographic transition, India also has a greying cum aging problem.
• Cooperative and competitive Federalism:
  • The index also promotes healthy competition among States through fair rankings and highlights the pillars and indicators they can improve.
  • Using this index as a tool, the State governments and the stakeholders can identify the areas they need to work upon.

Key Highlights from the Report

• Different Pillars and Indian Performance:
  • The Health System pillar observes the highest national average, followed by Social Well-being. 
  • Financial Well-being across the Education Attainment & Employment pillar has room for improvements.

• States have performed particularly worse in the Income Security pillar:
  • Over half of the States have a score below the national average, i.e., 33.03 in Income Security, which is the lowest across all pillars. 
• These pillar-wise analyses help States assess the state of the elderly population and identify existing gaps that obstruct their growth
• Performance of States:
  • To access performance, states were categorised in 4 categories as listed below:
  • Aged States:
    • It refers to States with an elderly population of more than 5 million.
    • Rajasthan has topped the list.
  • Relatively Aged states
    • It refers to States with an Elderly population of less than 5 million.
    • Himachal Pradesh are top-scoring regions 
  • Union territories
    • Chandigarh is the best performer.
  • North East States
    • Mizoram is at the top.

Source: PIB