Care services in India are fragmented across ministries. Make the case for a holistic national care framework in the context of Viksit Bharat 2047 and demographic ageing.

The care economy is the paid and unpaid work of looking after children, older people, the sick and persons with disabilities. It is still India's least-planned infrastructure. In 2024, 41% of women aged 15–59 did unpaid caregiving, against 21.4% of men [1]. Since ministries run care separately without a common plan, a single national framework is needed.

Fragmentation: the problem

• Childcare comes under MWCD's Palna scheme (Mission Shakti). The employer crèche mandate (Section 11A, Maternity Benefit Act) is a labour-law duty [2].
• Elder care is led by MoSJE but depends on Health, Finance and Ayush [3].
• The result is gaps and no single point of accountability. Only 1,761 Anganwadi-cum-Crèches were operational (Feb 2025) against a 17,000 target [2].

Case 1: Viksit Bharat 2047

• A developed India needs higher female labour force participation, and Palna explicitly aims to raise it [2].
• Care investment creates jobs. The ILO estimates up to 299 million care jobs globally by 2035 [5].
• Formalising care work advances SDG 8 (decent work) [2].

Case 2: Demographic ageing

• The number of older people is projected to reach ~230 million by 2036 (about 15% of the population) [3] and to exceed 20% by 2050 [4].
• Over 40% of older people are in the poorest wealth quintile [4]. Rising disability and inadequate geriatric infrastructure [3] mean they need daily care, not just pensions.
• Schemes focused on children (Palna, ICDS) will miss the fastest-growing demand.

Contours of a holistic framework

• Institutional: one inter-ministerial body bringing together MWCD, Labour, MoSJE, Health and MoSPI.
• ILO 5R lens: recognise, reduce, redistribute, reward and represent care work [6].
• Reward: crèche workers are honorary, paid ₹5,500 a month in AWCCs, and states may top this up [2]. Such top-ups should become the norm.
• Regulate: bring all old age homes under regulation and support ageing at home [4].
• Data: regular Time Use Surveys to make unpaid work visible [1].

Care deserves the same planning as highways and digital public infrastructure, because it links gender justice, readiness for an ageing population, and growth. A unified framework based on the 5Rs, with joined-up delivery and decent care jobs, would give effect to Articles 41 and 42 (public assistance in old age, sickness and disablement; maternity relief). It would also turn women's invisible labour into a foundation for Viksit Bharat 2047.