Azaad आवाज़

APRIL 2021

Senior Citizens: Financial Inclusion And Economic Security

In This Issue

The elderly in India face different forms of abuse and have different insecurities. One such insecurity is financial insecurity. The Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) (2017-18) notes that due to changing circumstances, especially the kith and kin of senior citizens moving away from them for education and job opportunities and the shift in family structure, from a joint family to a nuclear family, is leading to major economic impact amongst the senior citizens. This has also led them to be dependent on their sons and daughters, leading to other forms of illnesses, such as mental illness. Thus, it is important for the Government to develop a robust pension and insurance system to address financial insecurity in India, and should invest in its health infrastructure.

Awaaz in Focus introduces one to the varied perspectives shared by those who are initiating grassroot level changes in and across different local communities in a region. The people interviewed vary from academic scholars to grassroot level activists and practitioners.

In this edition of Awaaz In Focus, we talk to Mr. Himanshu Rath, founder and Chairman of AgeWell Foundation. He talks about financial insecurity after the onset of retirement, and the difficulty of getting a job in India after retirement, even if it is necessary for survival in many cases. He also talks about the necessity to “re-skill” or “re-tool” senior citizens looking for a job after retirement, to adapt them to a newer, technologically enhanced workplaces.

This month’s opinion piece talks about social security schemes and its need in India, given changing circumstances and familial conditions. The piece also talks about how social security schemes and pension schemes are important for senior citizens and linked to their mental and financial wellbeing, and even linked to one’s self-respect. The piece also analyses some measures and polices of the Government to address these issues, and ways to address different concerns regarding the same.

Talk Point is the segment of the Patrika wherein individuals are interviewed based upon their perception and understanding of a certain issue.

This month, Talk point features Ms. Isha Sharma, General Secretary of the Organization For Youth and Elderly. She discusses elder abuse and its prevalence in India. She also talks about how her organization has been working towards this issue by sensitizing this issue amongst the senior citizens and the youth, and how citizens can be cognizant of the needs of the senior citizens and take care of them better.

Vichaar is Azaad Awaaz’s podcast series that aims at engaging with experts and professionals to further the conversation on the marginalisation of communities.

This month’s podcast features Dr. Indranil Mukhopadhyay, Associate Professor at O. P. Jindal Global University. He talks about financial insecurity in terms of access to healthcare facilities by senior citizens. He talks about the state of senior citizens in this regard, since many of the senior citizens of the country do not have access to job opportunities. He talks how inequality and other social barriers like caste and gender play a role here, why it is important to de-commodify and de-commercialize healthcare, and why investing in health infrastructure is important to address these issues.

About Azaad Awaaz

Our initiative Azaadआवाज़ aims to tackle an erosion of empathy in our society. This monthly magazine (Patrika) aims to focus on the marginalized sections whose voices are often muted in the cacophony of flashy mainstream media discourse. When referring to the marginalization, this platform does not aim to restrict itself to the traditional focus on social aggregates like caste and race alone but aspires to include a discussion on class, gender, sexual orientation etc.