The increase in life expectancy in the country has led to newer health challenges in the community. What are those challenges and…

The increase in life expectancy in the country has led to newer health challenges in the community. What are those challenges and what steps need to be taken to meet them? (Answer in 150 words) 10 marks

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

देश में आयु संभाविता में आई वृद्धि से समाज में नई स्वास्थ्य चुनौतियाँ खड़ी हो गई हैं। यह नई चुनौतियाँ कौन-कौन सी हैं और उनके समाधान हेतु क्या-क्या कदम उठाए जाने आवश्यक हैं? (150 शब्दों में उत्तर दीजिए)

The question as printed in the 2022 General Studies paper

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Model answer

Drafted with AI by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 150-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key. How we build rubrics and answers.

India’s rising life expectancy (over 70 years) has shifted the epidemiological burden toward complex, long-term geriatric conditions.

Emerging Health Challenges

NCDs and Functional Decline: High prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders like dementia and Alzheimer’s, compounded by physical disabilities including osteoporosis, falls, and vision/hearing impairments.
Mental Health and Social Vulnerabilities: Rising rates of depression, loneliness, elder abuse, and suicide, exacerbated by urbanization, the breakdown of traditional intergenerational family support, and gendered vulnerabilities (higher destitution among elderly widows).
Systemic Gaps: Acute shortages of trained geriatric specialists, inadequate specialized infrastructure, and catastrophic out-of-pocket expenditure.

Steps Needed

Healthcare Strengthening: Scale up the National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly (NPHCE) across primary centers and widen geriatric packages under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, which since October 2024 covers every citizen aged 70 and above (Ayushman Vay Vandana card).
Social and Financial Protection: Enhance targeted old-age pension schemes and promote silver economy initiatives for productive, active aging.
Community-Based Care: Develop local day-care networks, assisted-living models, and certified home-caregiver cadres.

Transitioning from mere longevity to healthy aging requires institutionalizing an integrated continuum of preventive, curative, and palliative care.

How this answer will be evaluated

Framework: Situation > Analysis > Measures: legal, institutional, developmental > Assessment

What earns full marks: Identifies 3-4 specific age-related challenges and maps concrete, implementable steps to each.

Evaluation rubric

Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.

The answer Identify 3-4 specific health challenges arising from increased life expectancy and map implementable steps to meet them. 10 marks · 150 words

challenges— 3-4 challenges → solutions mapped to them → conclusion
Must cover
- Identify 3-4 specific health challenges (e.g., NCDs, geriatric care, mental health).
- Map specific, implementable steps to each identified challenge.
- Steps must be concrete (legal, institutional, or developmental), not aspirational.
- Maintain a balanced structure covering both challenges and solutions.
Loses marks
- Listing challenges without mapping specific solutions to them.
- Using dramatic or vague language instead of analytical points.
- Failing to distinguish between general health and age-specific issues.
Earns more
- Mention of specific health conditions like dementia or arthritis.
- Reference to specific institutional mechanisms (e.g., ASHA, PHC).
- Discussion of the economic burden of long-term care.
- Mention of the role of technology in elderly care.
Extra mark
- Citing a specific current scheme with a number (e.g., Ayushman Bharat).
- Including a simple flowchart or diagram of the care pathway.

What "Enumerate" is asking you to do

Produce the complete set of items asked for, countable and correctly named. The examiner marks against a checklist, so a missing item costs and an elaborated one gains nothing — where discussion is wanted the stem asks for it as a separate sub-part.

Structure that answers it

One line naming the basis on which the set is drawn → items numbered, each in a phrase or a single line → the discussion sub-part taken up separately, after the list is complete

Where marks are lost

Treating it as an essay. Six items named in six lines score better than three items explained at length.

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