Limited succour: Budget 2018 and senior citizens

Budget 2018 does well to focus on senior citizens, but action must be broad based

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stressed(emphasize/draw attention-बल देना) in his Budget speech last week that “to care for those who cared for us is one of the highest honours”, underscoring the importance the Centre attaches to providing economic support for India’s growing population of senior citizens. He then announced(declare/promulgate-घोषणा करना) several tax and related incentives to ease the financial burden on people aged 60 and above, all of which are very welcome given that the elderly face steeply escalating(increase rapidly/intensify-तीव्र करना)   health-care costs on declining(decrease/less) real interest and pension incomes. From affording a five-fold increase in the exemption(rebate/compensation-छूट) limit on interest income from savings, fixed and recurring deposits held with banks and post offices to ₹50,000, and doing away with the requirement for tax to be deducted at source on such income, the Budget offers much-needed relief. 

This it does by leaving a little more money in the hands of elderly savers who are heavily dependent on interest income to meet their living expenses(expenditure-खर्चों). Another useful tax change is the proposal to raise the annual income tax deduction limit for health insurance premium and/or medical reimbursement(compensation) to ₹50,000 for all seniors. And a crucially(important) allied (combine/ amalgamate-जोड़ना) step is the move to set the ceiling(maximum limit-अधिकतम सीमा) for deduction in lieu of expenses(खर्च के बदले) incurred on certain critical illnesses to ₹1 lakh, irrespective of the age of the senior citizen.

Separately, Mr. Jaitley also proposed extending the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana(PMVVY) by two years, up to March 2020, and doubled the cap on investment in the scheme to ₹15 lakh. This annuity-cum-insurance scheme entitles the senior citizen policyholder to a guaranteed pension that equates(compare/liken-समान बनाना) to an annual return of 8% on investment. This pension plan, unlike the entirely government-funded Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme for the elderly who live below the poverty line, is contributory and is run by the Life Insurance Corporation of India. While all these Budget measures are laudable(admirable/praiseworthy-प्रशंसनीय) insofar(to the extent that-जहां तक) as they recognize(identify) that the right to a life with dignity(limit/decorum-गौरव) doesn’t retire with the crossing of a chronological(consecutive/sequential-कालक्रमबद्ध) threshold, much more needs to be done to address the needs of this rapidly growing demographic cohort(colleague/agglomeration-जत्था). 

With more than 70% of the 104 million elderly living in the rural hinterland(back country-आंतरिक इलाके), any serious initiative(step) to improve the lot of senior citizens must incorporate adequate budgetary support for social welfare spending on the relevant programmes. While the Budget provisions ₹6,565 crore for the pension scheme for the elderly poor, its outlay(expenditure/expense-व्यय) for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s assistance to voluntary organisations for programmes relating to the ‘aged’ at ₹60 crore is starkly inadequate (scarce/insufficient-अपर्याप्त). With the number of the elderly in India set to surge(increase/rise) by 2050 to almost 300 million, or about a fifth of the population, governments need to make more comprehensive (pervasive / pervasive-व्यापक) efforts to address the nation’s greying demographic.

Succour(help/aid) :- assistance and support in times of hardship and distress.