Disability, Social Welfare Policy and Elderly in India and China

Disability and ageing in most of the developing world in general are relatively ignored social phenomenon as other pressing socioeconomic problems such as poverty and jobs often get more urgent attention. India and China have a particularly major challenge in these regards because of the sheer size of their population. The complex social structure of the world’s two most populated countries particularly ignorance and misplaced notions of disability also multiplies the need and challenge to address it. Their fast ageing amid a growing need for wider social welfare for all the population, their vast geographies, different developmental priorities and, poverty and inequalities make it all the more difficult to target ageing and disability. Interestingly, on policy front, both India and China have adopted liberal policies to support their disabled and the aged. However, the implementation of the state’s promises to the disabled and the aged has been an ongoing process and there is evidence that welfare policies targeting them have improved and become comprehensive over the years. Indeed, there is a long way to cover against the backdrop of India and China fast becoming ageing societies. This paper is an effort to map the scale of ageing, disability and related social welfare policies in India and China.