In order to enhance the prospects of social development, sound and adequate health care policies are needed particularly in the fields of geriatric and maternal health care. Discuss.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Discuss why sound health policies for the elderly and for mothers matter for social development, what India's schemes offer, and where the gaps lie.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Discuss: why sound health policies for geriatric and maternal care are central to social development
- Discuss: what India's policies provide in the two fields and the gaps that remain
Open with · India carries substantial maternal risk and is also ageing: the elderly were 8.6% of the population in Census 2011 and their share is rising.
Cover
- Why it matters: healthy mothers and children build human capital and the demographic dividend; healthy elders reduce impoverishment, dependency and family burden.
- Maternal schemes: Janani Suraksha Yojana (2005), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (2011), Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (2016), Matru Vandana Yojana (2017), 26 weeks' maternity leave.
- Maternal outcomes: MMR fell to 97 per lakh live births in 2018–20 (SRS); State gaps persist and over half of pregnant women are anaemic (NFHS-5).
- Elderly schemes: NPHCE (2010–11), PM-JAY (2018), Ayushman Vay Vandana cover for everyone aged 70+ (2024) and the Senior Citizens Act 2007.
- Elderly gaps: few geriatric specialists, weak primary care for chronic and mental illness, little long-term care, and heavy out-of-pocket spending.
- Way forward: strengthen primary care, district geriatric units and emergency obstetric care, and raise public health spending to 2.5% of GDP (National Health Policy 2017).
Close with · Investing in maternal and elderly care serves both ends of the life cycle: it saves lives now and protects the productivity and dignity of an ageing society.
Add value (verified)
- At the time of the exam the latest SRS figure was an MMR of 113 per lakh live births (2016–18), down from 130 in 2014–16; it fell further to 97 in 2018–20. Reduction in Maternal Mortality Rate — PIB (Lok Sabha reply), 18 September 2020 ↗“Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India per 100,000 live births has declined to 113 in 2016-18 from 122 in 2015-17 and 130 in 2014-2016”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 229 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
India carries risk at both ends of life: maternal mortality was 113 per lakh live births in 2016–18 (SRS), and the elderly, 8.6% of the population in Census 2011, are a rising share.
Why these two fields matter
- Maternal health decides child survival, nutrition and schooling, and so the human capital behind the demographic dividend; a mother's death impoverishes a family.
- Elderly health decides whether ageing brings dignity or dependency: chronic illness, out-of-pocket spending and lost caregiver earnings push households into poverty.
What policy offers
- Maternal: Janani Suraksha Yojana (2005), Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (2011), Matru Vandana Yojana (2017) and 26 weeks' maternity leave; MMR fell from 130 (2014–16) to 113 (2016–18) and, since then, to 97 (2018–20).
- Elderly: the National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly (2010–11), PM-JAY (2018), the Senior Citizens Act 2007 and (since then, in 2024) Ayushman Vay Vandana cover for those aged 70 and above.
Gaps
- Maternal: wide State gaps, over half of pregnant women anaemic (NFHS-5), and thin emergency obstetric care in remote districts.
- Elderly: few geriatric specialists, weak primary care for chronic and mental illness, no long-term care, heavy out-of-pocket costs.
Comprehensive primary care with geriatric and obstetric services, and public spending raised to 2.5% of GDP (National Health Policy 2017) would protect both the next generation and the dignity of an ageing society; sound policy here is social development itself.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.