India, Feb. 19 -- Anita is trying to hold down a job, manage her family and look after her 93-year-old mother. Her mother was diagnosed with dementia three years ago, and since then it's been a blur of medications, doctor visits, and watching her suffer the quiet indignities of incontinence - the soiled sheets, the embarrassment, and her life being reduced to the four walls of her room. She is one of millions of Indians silently holding together a care system that the state hasn't really given a thought to.

This year's Union Budget had something to say to Anita. Not all of it was good.

The Budget made a welcome announcement: The training of lakhs of caregivers. It is a step elder care experts have long argued for. As India ages rapidly ...