Rent-a-grandchild: Businesses offering companions to elderly grow in India

A small but growing number of companies are selling what families once took for granted: someone to take care of the ageing people. New Delhi, India – Both daughters of S Budhiraja live in the United States.

Yet, when he and his wife head out to the market in Gurugram, a bustling business district on the outskirts of India’s capital, a young man walks beside them. Across Indian cities, a small but growing number of companies are now selling what families once took for granted: someone to take care of ageing people.

Chores include taking them to the temple, sitting with them during a hospital visit, playing cards, or simply listening to them. People over 60 made up 10.5 percent of its population in 2022, a demographic projected to nearly double to 21 percent by 2050, according to the India Ageing Report 2023 by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Institute for Population Sciences.