Need of Pension Schemes in India
NEED TO POPULARISE PENSION SCHEMES IN INDIA
By:
Dr. Ritu Bhattacharyya, Professor Marketing, Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Management Studies and Research
Dr. Sangita Kohli, Lecturer, Somaiya College, Vidya Vihar, Mumbai
CONTEXT
India has the second largest population in the world. The working population of the world in India is also the second largest. The only old age security available in India is for people working in the Central or State Government enterprises or Public Sector. Once these sector were the biggest employers in the country, therefore covering a vast portion of the working population. This security scheme left out the people in the agricultural and the unorganized sector which was a very large population. With rapid development and industrialization and the privitasation drive a huge population today works in industries that provide no old age security in the form of pension. 78% of the working population today is employed in sectors that provide no pension. [1]
The current state of pensions in India is the result of individual plans developed and amended over several decades, rather than of a comprehensive and coherent approach to old age income security and social protection, based upon a guiding set of principles. This has resulted in gaps of coverage in several areas, and duplication within various programs in other areas. Similarly, income generated through existing programs is inadequate for many retirees, and often does not provide for protection against the risks of longevity and inflation. India is undergoing major demographic shifts, in which the elderly population will double from its 1991 level by 2016[2]. In comparison, it took most Western European countries nearly a hundred years to undergo the same transition, and they did so at a much high level of per capital income than India.
India does not have a comprehensive old age income security system. There are however, some mandatory schemes for employees
By:
Dr. Ritu Bhattacharyya, Professor Marketing, Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Management Studies and Research
Dr. Sangita Kohli, Lecturer, Somaiya College, Vidya Vihar, Mumbai
CONTEXT
India has the second largest population in the world. The working population of the world in India is also the second largest. The only old age security available in India is for people working in the Central or State Government enterprises or Public Sector. Once these sector were the biggest employers in the country, therefore covering a vast portion of the working population. This security scheme left out the people in the agricultural and the unorganized sector which was a very large population. With rapid development and industrialization and the privitasation drive a huge population today works in industries that provide no old age security in the form of pension. 78% of the working population today is employed in sectors that provide no pension. [1]
The current state of pensions in India is the result of individual plans developed and amended over several decades, rather than of a comprehensive and coherent approach to old age income security and social protection, based upon a guiding set of principles. This has resulted in gaps of coverage in several areas, and duplication within various programs in other areas. Similarly, income generated through existing programs is inadequate for many retirees, and often does not provide for protection against the risks of longevity and inflation. India is undergoing major demographic shifts, in which the elderly population will double from its 1991 level by 2016[2]. In comparison, it took most Western European countries nearly a hundred years to undergo the same transition, and they did so at a much high level of per capital income than India.
India does not have a comprehensive old age income security system. There are however, some mandatory schemes for employees