Active Ageing Index (AAI) in India: Is the Approach Used in European Countries Applicable to Developing Countries?

Guntupalli, Aravinda and Chakraborty, Suchandrima (2018). Active Ageing Index (AAI) in India: Is the Approach Used in European Countries Applicable to Developing Countries? In: zaidi, Asghar; Harper, Sarah; Howse, Kenneth; Lamura, Giovanni and Perek-Białas, Jolanta eds. Building Evidence for Active Ageing Policies. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 437–463.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6017-5_20

Abstract

One of the questions the chapter asked is whether the AAI (Active Ageing Index), a widely popular policy tool in Europe, can be applied in India. We conclude that the AAI will help to understand the contribution of older adults in India, by including social and economic components. We believe that one of the strengths is the critical evaluation of employment and social engagement domains. In India, employment in later life could not always be interpreted as an active engagement, due to lack of formal support and prevailing ageism in the labour market. Despite poor scoring in the employment domain, India has similar scores to the EU due to higher social participation rate. We recommend that in-depth analysis has to be carried out to draw policy conclusions based on AAI in developing countries.