New Delhi: The population of senior citizens in India would touch 170 million in the next ten years, the parliament was told Tuesday.
According to Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla those above 60 years would form 12 percent of the country’s total population by 2026. The information was given as a reply to a question in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament).
The Registrar General of India has projected the population of India’s senior citizens at 11.81 percent by 2016. They would increase to 14.31 percent in 2021 when the next national census is due.
The population of senior citizens has increased from 77 million to 103.8 million between 2001 and 2011, the minister said.