Many countries in the world such as Germany and Japan are facing the twin problems of an ageing population, above 60, and low birth rates and they have to devise ways to make use of the creative energies of senior citizens, Nobel laureate from Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus has said.

He was delivering a lecture here on Friday on the second day of the seminar on social business organised by Andhra University. "It is a grave mistake to think that those above 60 cannot contribute to the society. Age is only relative. I detest the very term - retirement. A man or woman should be creative till the last breath," he said.

He said that "one of the main problems in the world is that 99 per cent of the wealth is concentrated in one per cent of the population and that population too is in five to six countries in North America and Europe. Therefore, the world economic order is fundamentally unjust."

Yunus said "there is a whopping trillion dollars in pension funds and at least five per cent of the money should be invested in social business. It will make a huge difference to the have-nots of the world."

He said that hidden within every person there is an entrepreneur and the right conditions should be created for bringing out the entrepreneurial talents not only among the young, but also the aged.

He said poverty in India or Bangladesh is by no means an insurmountable challenge and it can be done, given the will and right policies and strategies.

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