Chennai, Jun 16 (PTI) Tamil Nadu is ageing faster than any other large State and its elderly share is projected to rise from 10.6 per cent in 2011 to 18.2 per cent by 2031, and the old-age dependency ratio from 20.6 in 2021 to 32.7 by 2036, the state government said here on Tuesday.
According to a white paper unveiled by the government, which underlined mobilising additional resources without imposing fresh burden on citizens, said Tamil Nadu is ageing faster.
It said: “Tamil Nadu is ageing faster than any other large State: its elderly share is projected to rise from 10.6 per cent in 2011 to 18.2 per cent by 2031, and the old-age dependency ratio from 20.6 in 2021 to 32.7 by 2036. A shrinking working-age population narrows the tax base precisely
as an expanding elderly population raises social-security and healthcare obligations — the “scissors effect” that drives a debt trap.
The State’s demographic dividend is the shortest among major States and is already closing, which means the period available for fiscal correction from a position of demographic strength is narrowing with each passing year — the danger of the State growing old before becoming rich, the government added. PTI VGN VGN ROH
