INDIA AGEING REPORT-2023

The “India Ageing Report 2023” has been prepared by the United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA) and International Institute of Population Sciences(IIPS), on welfare of senior citizens in India. Salient findings of the report are as under:-

1. Convincing senior citizens to use digital platforms and providing the training and necessary gadgets for their daily use is a challenge.
2. Mental health issues like Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are still considered a stigma in society.
3. With Indian population ageing, the disability becomes a major concern which in turn increases the caregiving burden.
4. Poverty, lack of social security in old age, poor public health facilities, illiteracy and digital ignorance created additional challenges and general disaster relief work till recently did not often include older persons as a separate group.
5. Corporate and NGOs have made efforts for joyful aging, social assistance, old age homes

 

The Government of India has been addressing the challenges and opportunities related to elderly care through various constitutional provisions, like, Article 41 of the Constitution of India; through laws, like the, Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007; policies, like the, National Policy on Older Persons, 1999; Schemes and Programmes, like, Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana, Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, Atal Pension Yojana, Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, among others.

The Government of India through its schemes and programmes is collaborating with Non-Governmental/Voluntary Organizations, Regional Resource Training Centres and National Institute of Social Defence for implementing its programs, including capacity building. The Private Sector already has provision to work in the field of elderly welfare through Corporate Social Responsibility as per provisions of Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013.

 

This information was given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Sushri Pratima Bhoumik in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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MG/MS/VL