With ageing population no longer being a feature unique to developed nations, India confronts problems of the elderly from myriad yet-to-be addressed perspectives.

Health is a critical dimension of human development as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, India is still grappling with the persistent rural - urban divide. The nation today urgently need to strengthen the country’s rural health infrastructure to better its health status beyond the middle and upper classes of society.

The recent World Bank report that ranks India as the fourth most equal country globally has sparked a critical debate on the measures and metrics behind inequality rankings and poverty reduction. The conversation decodes the data sources, methodological inconsistencies, and paradoxes in economic inequality indicators such as the Gini coefficient and income or wealth shares by different classes of populations. It explores why poverty decline does not necessarily translate into equality and examines the role of welfare schemes, progressive taxation, and statistical frameworks in shaping our understanding of inequality in India. This reflection offers a cautionary perspective against uncritical interpretations of global rankings and emphasizes the need for nuanced, context-aware policy responses.