Symposium - "Impact of Recession on Older Persons"
- Conducted on 17/01/2009
- Mr. Gautam Bhardwaj, Director, Invest India Economic Foundation
- Dr. Shashank Saksena, Director, Deptt. Of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India
- Mr. Prabhakar Sinha, Times of India
Global Recession - a concern for the Aged in India,
Agwell’s Perspective
Global economic crisis has slowly started shaking up the Indian Economy too. There are differences of opinion with respect to the magnitude of its effects in terms of percentage, but there is no denying the fact that the infection has started spreading gradually into the financial and economic health of the Nation which is reflecting upon the living of the young but also on the working & savings of the retired and the old persons who had taken their investments into the new found financial offers in the growing economy over the last few years.
Persons of age sixty and older – along with those in other age groups - have been buffeted by decreased returns, layoffs and reorganizations that have been spawned by the economic downturn in decades,” as stated by Himanshu Rath of Agewell. “Senior workers are especially vulnerable because it takes them longer to revise their investments and also find new jobs or financial coverage.”
“As part of our effort to help those vulnerable workers, Agewell has established a one-stop job exchange platform – “Eklavya”, to help in the job search,” Himanshu Rath added.
The US economy is worst hit leaving more than 5 lac Americans jobless, in Britain it has dangerously increasing every month. Thousands of European and American citizens are left homeless now due to debt-fuelled housing bubble.
Indian economy, though in stress, has been doing fairly good, especially in view of prevailing economic malady all around. The growth rate is expected to be 6.5 to 7.5%, if not more. The loan waiver of the Union govt announced in the budget this year has provided stimulus to this sector and is working as bailout package for the farmers, specially the elders of the family in the rural.
It is established that the economic policy of any country is not governed by the kind of people who govern the country; rather by the kind of people governed. It is here where the crux of the problem as well as solution is identifiable.
Instead of looking upon the west and US, we should concentrate on evolving strategies to mitigate the after effects of global contraction by increasing the domestic saving of the elderly and thus increasing the domestic market demand.
Agewell has been in service to the elderly for the past decade and has been internationally involved with international organisations for the welfare of the aged. The concerns that globally are now being faced by the aged in the country need to be also addressed by the Prime Minister to ensure their creating a better life continuity. Better interest rates on fixed deposits, well packaged insurance policies, easy housing norms will g a long way in acquiring the support and relief.
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