Overview
The NFHS-6 fact‑sheets released in August 2026 show that 12.9% of Indians are aged 60 years or older, up from 11.8% in NFHS‑5 (2019‑2023). The rise is not uniform: some states are ageing fast while others remain young.
Key Developments
- Kerala now has 20.7% of its population aged 60+, the highest in the country.
- Goa (17.2%), Himachal Pradesh (16.4%) and Tamil Nadu (16.3%) also cross the 15% mark.
- Ladakh’s elderly share jumped from 8.9% to 14.6% in four years – a 5.7‑point rise.
- Bihar and Uttar Pradesh saw only modest increases of 0.4 and 0.3 percentage points respectively.
- The AB PM‑JAY now covers all citizens aged 70 years and above.
Important Facts on Data Gaps
NFHS‑6 records only one elderly indicator – the proportion aged 60+. All other health variables are grouped for ages 15‑49 or 15‑54, making it impossible to assess chronic disease burden among seniors. For example, hypertension and high blood sugar are reported for adults 15+, mixing a 25‑year‑old with an 85‑year‑old.
Nutrition data (BMI, height, weight) exclude anyone above 49 years (women) or 54 years (men). Consequently, the nutritional status of the group that will need most health support is invisible.
Health‑insurance information is collected at the household level, not at the individual senior level, so we cannot tell whether older members are financially protected.
These gaps arise because NFHS interviews only women up to 49 and men up to 54; older persons appear only in the household roster and receive a single blood‑pressure or glucose reading, without any behavioural or treatment data.
Exam Relevance
Understanding the uneven age structure is crucial for geriatric services and for planning the expansion of non‑communicable diseases (NCDs) care. The data shortfall hampers evidence‑based policy making, a key competency tested in GS‑3 and GS‑4.
The LASI provides deep insight into senior health, but its baseline (2017‑2018) is eight years old, limiting its usefulness for current policy evaluation.
Way Forward
- Publish age‑specific NFHS data for hypertension, diabetes and other NCDs to capture senior prevalence.
- Introduce a mid‑cycle module in NFHS that interviews persons aged 60+ on lifestyle, treatment adherence and functional ability.
- Synchronise NFHS and LASI so that their datasets can be cross‑referenced, avoiding siloed information.
- Conduct a rapid, focused survey every 2‑3 years to keep elderly health indicators current, especially in fast‑ageing states like Kerala and Ladakh.
- Use the refreshed data to fine‑tune AB PM‑JAY benefits, ensuring that financial protection reaches seniors with chronic conditions.
By bridging these data gaps, policymakers can anticipate the health needs of India’s ageing population rather than reacting after the fact, aligning with the government’s commitment to universal health coverage.