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.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Discuss: why sound geriatric and maternal health policies are central to social development
- Discuss: what India's policies provide in the two fields, the gaps that remain, and the way forward
Open with · The Constitution asks the State to secure maternity relief (Article 42), public assistance in old age (Article 41) and better public health (Article 47); yet in 2016–18 India's MMR was 113 and the elderly are a rising share.
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 · Meeting SDG target 3.1, a maternal mortality ratio below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, while giving elders care with dignity, turns India's demographic transition into social development.
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”
- Article 41 directs the State to provide public assistance in old age, sickness and disablement; Article 42 directs it to secure maternity relief.The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024) - Legislative Department ↗“public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want. 42. Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief”
- Article 47 makes raising nutrition and improving public health a primary duty of the State.The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024) - Legislative Department ↗“47. Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health”
- SRS state table: Kerala's MMR was 46 (2014–16), 42 (2015–17) and 43 (2016–18), against 113 for India in 2016–18.Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India 2016-18 - PIB ↗“10 Karnataka 108 97 92 11 Kerala 46 42 43 12 Tamil Nadu 66 63 60”
- SDG target 3.1: by 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.Goal 3 - United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Sustainable Development ↗“Target 3.1 By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 222words · Minimalist IAS
The Constitution asks the State to secure maternity relief (Article 42), old-age assistance (Article 41) and public health (Article 47). Yet India's MMR was 113 per lakh live births in 2016–18 (SRS), and the elderly (8.6% in Census 2011) are a rising share. Both ends of life now shape social progress.
Why maternal and geriatric care drive social development
- Human capital: a mother's health shapes child survival, nutrition and schooling, the base of the demographic dividend.
- Poverty shield: chronic illness, out-of-pocket costs and lost caregiver earnings push elderly households into poverty.
What policy offers, and the gaps
| Field | Key policies | Gaps |
|---|---|---|
| Maternal | JSY (2005), JSSK (2011), PMMVY (2017) | Over half of pregnant women anaemic (NFHS-5) |
| Geriatric | NPHCE (2010–11), PM-JAY (2018) | Few specialists, no long-term care |
- Progress and a model: MMR fell from 130 (2014–16) to 113 (2016–18); Kerala's was 43 (SRS), the fruit of strong primary care.
- Persisting gaps: thin emergency obstetric care; weak chronic and mental-health care; high out-of-pocket costs.
Way forward
- Spend more: public health spending of 2.5% of GDP, the National Health Policy 2017 target.
- Life-cycle primary care: geriatric units, obstetric emergency care and, since 2024, Ayushman Vay Vandana cover for all aged 70+.
Meeting SDG target 3.1 (MMR below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030) while elders age with dignity turns India's demographic transition into social development.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
