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India: Opportunities and Challenges of Demographic Transition

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The Silver Market Phenomenon

Abstract

India is in the middle of its demographic transition. The 60-plus age group (elderly population) is projected to quadruple by 2050, while the 0–14 age group (child population) remains stagnant. India’s population structure and distribution would then closely resemble that of nations currently with a high aging index. The high index, as seen now in nations like Russia and the UK, indicates that the elderly population is larger than the child population. Such changes in the size, structure, and distribution of the population will have implications for public policy as well as business. The Government of India has launched a slew of initiatives to meet this challenge. On the business front, many products and services have been launched that specifically target the elderly. However, there are many other products and services used by all age groups. These may have to be repositioned, if the motivations of the different age groups are not similar. Both from the angle of public policy and business, decision makers in India should closely examine the experience of nations with a high aging index, and respond to the challenges of demographic transition.

This chapter is based on the doctoral thesis of the first-named author, approved for award of the title “Fellow of the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow.”

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We use the term “elderly” to refer to those aged 60-plus years.

  2. 2.

    Population aging is the process by which older individuals become a proportionally larger share of the total population. At the root of population aging is demographic transition, the process by which mortality rates decline, followed by fertility declines [2].

  3. 3.

    Aging index is the proportion of the elderly to the child population. An index higher than 100, would imply that the elderly population is larger than the child population [2].

  4. 4.

    The dependency ratio is expressed as the number of persons in the elderly population, per 100 persons in the working population.

  5. 5.

    Baby boomers are those born post-war between 1946 and 1964 [7]; this definition is applicable to those born in the USA.

  6. 6.

    USD (US $) is worth about 40 INR (Indian Rupee).

  7. 7.

    Size is determined by fertility and birth rates, life expectancy and death rates, and migration, and refers to the number of individuals in our population. Structure describes the population in terms of variables like age and gender. Distribution refers to the geographic location of individuals in the population [26].

  8. 8.

    Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh state in North India.

  9. 9.

    Almirahs or cabinets are made of wood or metal. The Godrej range is made of metal. Almirahs are a must-have in every Indian home. They are used to store precious jewelry and garments.

  10. 10.

    Product categories that are commonly used by all age groups are said to be age-neutral, like the common variants of toothpaste, or almirahs. In contrast, other product categories like adult diapers are age-specific.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marketing Area, XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, Jamshedpur, India

    Suresh Paul Antony

  2. Marketing Area, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, India

    P. C. Purwar & Neelam Kinra

  3. Marketing Area, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, India

    Janakiraman Moorthy

Authors
  1. Suresh Paul Antony
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  2. P. C. Purwar
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  3. Neelam Kinra
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  4. Janakiraman Moorthy
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Studies (DIJ), German Institute for Japanese, Kioicho 7-1, Tokyo, 102-0094, Japan

    Florian Kohlbacher

  2. AB Technologie-,Innovationsmanagement, TU Hamburg-Harburg, Schwarzenbergstr. 95, Hamburg, 21073, Germany

    Cornelius Herstatt

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Antony, S.P., Purwar, P.C., Kinra, N., Moorthy, J. (2011). India: Opportunities and Challenges of Demographic Transition. In: Kohlbacher, F., Herstatt, C. (eds) The Silver Market Phenomenon. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14338-0_25

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