Most countries in the Asian region will be grappling with the elderly population rising from 365 million in 2017 to more than 520 million in 2027. However, India, with 65 per cent of its population below 65 years of age has the potential to rise as an economic superpower, but only if its youth is highly-skilled and re-skilled to handle newer technologies, says a report by Deloitte.

“India is among a handful of South Asian countries that sits on a demographic gold mine. India has a median population age of 27.3 years compared to that of 35 years for China and around 47 years for Japan. It is estimated that India has around 390 million millennials and about 440 million in the Gen-Z cohort. About 12 million people are added to the working age population every year,” says the report, ‘Demographics Fuelling Asia’s Shifting Balance of Power’ released on Monday.

Skill India initiative

“With the invasion of machines and improvement in robotics, India needs to pay special attention to skilling and re-skilling its workforce with a focus on the changing nature of today’s jobs. In recent years, India has taken proactive steps to deal with the disruptions in the job market with the ‘Skill India’ initiative being one of them. That said, it needs to be a continuing process of upgrading skills in a rapidly changing environment,” said Anis Chakravarty, Lead Economist, Deloitte India, in a release.

The report concludes that ageing would also produce some “very large winners” at the industry level, particularly in Asia.

“As is already increasingly evident in Japan, the surge in ageing-related opportunities will be evident well beyond health care. Rapid ageing in the Japanese population has changed the needs of people and the way businesses satisfy them. There has been increasing demand in sectors such as nursing, consumer goods for the elderly, age-appropriate housing and social infrastructure, as well as asset management and insurance,” said Tsuyoshi Oyama, Deloitte Japan Economist.

Increase in retirement age

Among the measures recommended to deal with rising shortages in workforce in the Asian region and pre-empt the adverse effects of an ageing population, the report recommended an increase in the retirement age, incentivising the participation of female workforce, welcoming migrants, and increasing productivity and skill development.