CORPORATE CITIZEN CLAPS FOR RAJASTHAN, MAHARASHTRA, CHANDIGARH AND MIZORAM AS THE TOP-SCORING STATES THAT PROVIDE THE BEST QUALITY OF LIFE TO THEIR ELDERLY

The study on the ‘Index on Quality of Life’ conducted by the Institute for Competitiveness, identifies the overall ageing problems faced by the elderly in India, the support given to them and focuses on the regional patterns of ageing across states and the Union Territories (UTs). The classification is based on ‘aged states’ defined as states with an elderly population of more than five million and those with less than five million, are termed ‘relatively-aged’. The index considers four pillars: financial and social well-being, the existing health system and income security. The other eight sub-pillars provide insights on economic empowerment, educational attainment and employment, social status, physical security, basic health, psychological and social security. While Rajasthan scored 54.61 in the ‘aged-states’ category, Himachal Pradesh scored 61.04. Mizoram tops with 59.79 points among north-eastern states while Chandigarh is the topper at 63.78 amongst UTs. Jammu and Kashmir scored the lowest at 46.16 among UTs and Arunachal Pradesh was worse off amongst the NE states. In the ‘aged-states’ and ‘relatively-aged’ states categories, Telangana and Gujarat scored the lowest with 38.19 and 49.00, respectively. The pillar-wise analysis helps in assessing the situation of the elderly population and also identifies existing gaps that obstruct their growth. The index also suggests the best possibilities of improving the lives of current and future generations of older people by investing in their health, education, and explore employment for the young. Amit Kapoor, Chairman, Institute for Competitiveness, rightly said that without a proper diagnostic tool to understand the implications of its ageing population, planning for the elderly can become a challenge for policymakers. The index is a welcome changemaker in a country portrayed as a young society but harbouring challenges of fast demographic age-related transitions.

CORPORATE CITIZEN SLAPS THE EQUIVOCAL MOMENTUM IN FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE NEED FOR A NET-ZERO GLOBAL EMISSIONS TARGET THAT INCLUDES INDIA

In the most recent sixth edition of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report, India is ranked as the third-largest emitter and China, the world’s biggest. The report based on scientific observations on global climate action holds the key to international climate negotiations. The report advises all nations to work towards global net-zero emission standards by 2050-the minimum required to keep the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius while warning that the world may be racing towards this temperature rise even before 2040. If unchecked, the extreme heat episode in Canada, the wildfire in Greece or the floods in Germany are indications for potential future devastations. However, the global goal is not possible without India’s participation as China too, has pledged a net-zero goal for 2060. The IPCC has implored India to commit towards net-zero emissions stating that India has been holding out as it believes it is already doing much more than it was required to do and that any further burden would hamper India’s efforts in pulling its millions out of poverty. The new IPCC data is likely to put pressure even on countries that have pledged a net-zero target because a larger part of their emission cuts is planned for 2035 and beyond. The IPCC has instilled renewed demands on countries to update their climate action plans, or nationally-determined contributions (NDCs). The solution lies in concerted efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45-50% below the 2010 level by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050. The 2030 estimates that the top contributors to climate change like the U.S. and China will increase their share of the global carbon dioxide budget to 68% given that China is also expected to increase its share of CO2 emissions-from 10 Gt/CO2 to 12 Gt/CO2 annually, in the next 10 years. India emits around 2.6 Gt/CO2 annually and given India’s business scenario, the country is likely to emit 1/3rd of China’s in 2030. But the fact remains that climate change commands effective global leadership and demands are to rise above the attitude witnessed while delivering vaccines-a low point etched in human history for now.