Adarsh Narahari
India is the world’s youngest nation with over 65% of its population under the age of 35, and with high average disposable incomes elevating their lifestyle. At the same time, the country’s population growth rate is declining, and is projected to be less than 1% during 2021-2031 and under 0.5% during 2031-2041, according to the India Budget 2019. This slow growth can be partly attributed to a decrease in the total fertility rate (TFR) which is falling well below replacement levels in several regions, making a case for the rise of the senior population.
This ageing population is significantly different from their predecessors during a period when India was lagging in per capita economic growth, had low life expectancy along with limited professional growth and investing opportunities.
For people turning 60 and above in the next decade, their requirements will be rather nuanced across housing, services and medical, among others, and will lead to the development of a new ecosystem. Particularly in real estate, the demand and development of integrated senior living will rise significantly across the top seven cities.
A critical sector
According to KPMG, India is projected to account for 16% of the global population aged 60 and older, approximately 346 million seniors out of an estimated 2.1 billion worldwide by 2050. While this percentage is lower than some countries, India’s sheer population size makes this shift economically and socially significant. This demographic wave will profoundly impact healthcare, social services, and economic policies, making senior living a critical sector for national development.
Senior housing is currently at a nascent stage with cities such as Pune and Bengaluru having 1.2 million and 1.03 million units, respectively, and witnessing robust growth in senior demographics with other cities steadily catching up.
This necessitates the need for development of an integrated ecosystem typically designed for people above a certain age group, offering a sense of community living featuring amenities like dining halls, social spaces, and recreational facilities.
With senior living properties, the idea is to offer independence to the elderly with professional assistance in their daily tasks and help them fulfil an active and healthy lifestyle. Global property consultant JLL states that the target market for senior living facilities will grow from 1.57 million households in 2024 to 2.27 million by 2030, led by factors including changing family structures, increased life expectancy, and a shift in societal attitudes towards independent living arrangements for seniors. However, the market remains in its nascent stages despite over $40 million in institutional investments in the last few years due to regulatory, operational, and awareness challenges. India’s traditional set up of older parents living with their children and independent housing dominating the landscape also remain key challenges for senior living real estate projects in India.
Forging partnerships
A senior living project is quite unlike other real estate projects as it requires the availability of medical services, community dining, retail spaces, concierge service providers and senior living community operators, among others. Identifying these nuanced requirements, an increasing number of developers are forging partnerships with service providers to offer an experience of holistic living.
In addition to this, there is an overhaul of the entire design language of real estate projects meant for seniors with wider doors, grab bars and railings in bathrooms and across campus, accessible kitchen counters, wheelchair-enabled homes, emergency panic button, anti-skid tiles across apartment and common areas, and elder friendly furniture.
With these insights and amenities, South India has emerged as the epicentre of senior living, accounting for roughly 60% of the national market share. This can be attributed to accelerated awareness and acceptance of senior living as well as a higher proportion of parents with Non-Resident Indian (NRI) children. To support its even growth across the country, policy interventions such as tax exemptions, care-related incentives and subsidies will make this segment even more attractive for developers as well as institutional investors.
Internationally, China offers life insurance products combined with senior living services, which has led to great success of this concept and can be emulated here in India as well. The need of the hour is to identify incentives and ecosystem partnerships, similar to the adoption of Aadhaar and UPI, to benefit our country’s ageing population.
Over the next decade-and-a-half, India will have to build local solutions from global lessons in order to build a strategic roadmap for senior living in the country.
This will become imperative in order to make this segment financially viable for developers and investors while catering to the needs of millions of elderly in a cost-effective manner.
The writer is founder and managing director at Primus Senior Living.
Published – September 26, 2025 04:25 pm IST