| | December 20198SENIOR LIVING TO THRIVE MORE IN TIER II CITIEShere has been a marked increase in the number of senior living projects since 2010. With growing acceptability and demand for senior housing units, such projects are coming up in the suburbs of all key metros in the country and in some selected tier II destinations such as Coimbatore, Goa, Dehradun and some parts of North India. There is a real needIt is anticipated that the elders in India would increase both in absolute numbers and relative strength, indicating a gradual swing to a senior population. Let us look at some figures. According to a CII study, the elderly population in India is expected to triple from 104 million in 2011 to 300 million in 2050, accounting for 18 percent of the total population in 2050. It is estimated that the population above 60 years (60+) of age in India will touch approximately 170 million by 2025. Besides growth in sheer numbers, seniors are also evolving as a customer segment and have needs and wants, which are different from seniors in earlier times. A significant section of seniors today are independent, financially stable, well-travelled, socially connected, and as a result have well developed thoughts of how they want to spend time after retirement. There is, today, a larger percentage of educated seniors than ever before in India. They now consider life after retirement as an opportunity to spend more time with families, pursue hobbies, develop new interests or even continue working or starting a new career. A mis-understood buyer segment offers growth potentialWhile it is true that the seniors are more independent and better equipped to take decisions post their retirement, it is equally correct to say that their needs are not rightly understood and therefore not met appropriately by both public and private sector at large. There clearly exists an untapped opportunity for investment and development in this sector. Unlike western countries where the senior living industry has gained maturity, India provides an opportunity to developers, service providers, healthcare players and operators to create solutions specific to India while leveraging learning from across the world. While a substantial proportion of seniors want to live in the city around their children or in proximity to them, nuclear family and space issue in top metros create social challenges.Also, for elders living in the outskirts of the city, on the one hand, they enjoy the peaceful, expansive environment, on the other hand, the benefits that the city life provides such as a super-speciality hospital, among others. In the outskirts of Mumbai, there are several senior living projects such as Nulife by Disha Direct and Gagan Group near Lonavla; Dignity IN MY OPINIONTBy Ramesh Nair, CEO & Country Head ­ India, JLL A growing number of senior living projects are coming up in tier II cities on account of availability of affordable land parcels, presence of social amenities, and improving health services standards
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