No Country for Old

India's demographic dividend is waning as the country transitions towards an ageing society, with its southern states poised to age faster than others. As India ages, public policy will also need to refocus to cater to the needs of an ageing society. Importantly, given the low per capita income, it is also suggested that perhaps India has been growing older without growing richer; thus, it becomes imperative to take a step back, assess the lives of the elderly and take measures to ensure dignified lives for them. This chapter, therefore, examines the lives, livelihoods, and vulnerabilities of the elderly in India using recent data from the Periodic Labour Force Surveys to build a case for social security for India's elderly. An overwhelming majority of the elderly still lack access to any form of pension, and any existing coverage remains barely adequate. Less than one-third of India's elderly population has access to pensions and other financial resources, such as rent and remittances. This study records a significant surge in the elderly workforce participation rate, dependent largely on the agriculture sector for livelihood, which generally comes with hard labour and takes a heavy toll on the ageing body. Above all, elderly wages are lower compared to the working-age population for all categories of work, and those from underprivileged social backgrounds face a higher incidence of wage inequality. The direct impact of the lack of social security is that 70% of the elderly are financially dependent on their family. There is a need for policy paradigms to ensure that India's growing elderly population is entitled to dignified social security and not dependent on the grace of family members or charity or left alone to toil unto their last.