Elder Care Programme

The demography of India has started to show a shift and it is important for us to prepare ourselves for the challenges that lie ahead. For instance, the share of elderly or those above 65 years of age has risen from 7.7 crores in 2001 to 13.3 crores in 2021 and is expected to rise up to 17.9 crores in 2031. Those above 80 years of age now constitute around 0.8% (1.1 Crore) of the population, and can be expected to rise up to 1.6 Crores (1%) by 2031.

Geriatrics have been known to be at an increased risk of developing many diseases and conditions, such as Dementia or other medical conditions including Parkinson’s. As many as 20.5 % of seniors which make up to 1.7 crore individuals, suffer from mental health issues, yet geriatric‑specific mental health services remain grossly under‑developed. Moreover, about 12.2 % of those above 60 currently require supportive or palliative care. This number is only expected to grow sharply in the coming decades.

On top of this, psychological concerns with loss, loneliness, conflicts with family members, struggling to achieve satisfaction with their life have been found to contribute to psychological illnesses including those of Anxiety and Depression, which in turn leads to an increased interpersonal conflict. On top of which, stressors due to financial loss owing to cybercrime has come up in recent times. Numerous cases have been documented where people have lost their entire life savings to cyber frauds. The monetary loss has a huge impact on the lives of those affected- more so psychologically.

Keeping all these factors in mind, the Government is striving to ameliorate the condition of the elderly through various programmes & policies, our efforts are directed to give the last mile support toward a healthy and peaceful living for the elders. We provide support in the following areas –

• Medical assistance
• Psychological assistance
• Social support in the form of care buddies & assisted living