By Kinjal Sampat and Harsh Mander
This chapter examines the provisioning of pensions for old persons in India, focusing mainly on people disadvantaged by gender, caste, religion and class. Pensions, here, refers to regular cash transfers made to individuals in recognition of advancement of their age. The chapter relies on information obtained from public data sources, secondary studies as well as primary field insights from a study1 conducted by the Centre for Equity Studies (CES) in 2016 in Rajasthan and Gujarat, dealing with various aspects of provisioning of old age pensions (henceforth referred to as CES study on pensions). The chapter briefly traverses the history of pensions globally and in India, unpacking the moral-politico and economic underpinnings across predominant pension systems.
Authors:
Harsh Mander is a writer and social activist, and founder and Director of the Centre for Equity Studies (CES), New Delhi. He was the former Special Commissioner to the Supreme Court, in the Right to Food case. Email: manderharsh@gmail.com
Kinjal Sampat is a sociologist based out of New Delhi, India. Formerly, she managed the research programme at Centre for Equity Studies. Email: kinjalsampat@gmail.com.