Who do we consider ‘old’?
Citizens who have crossed the age of 60 years are described variously as ‘senior citizens’, ‘elderly’ and ‘aged’. This is the age at which most people retire from the workforce. Even as per the Income Tax Act, people at or above the age of 60 are considered ‘senior citizens’ and thus can avail various benefits. These individuals are the ones who have laid out the foundation based on which we currently thrive, however, they are often faced with abuse or are abandoned.
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 2021 report, the population share of senior citizens will increase from 8% in 2015 to 19% in 2050 and it is expected that by the end of the century, senior citizens will constitute nearly 34% of the total population of the country. While the overall population of India will have grown by about 40% between 2006 and 2050, the elderly population will have grown by 270%.
This ageing phenomenon is all set to replace the ‘youth bulge’ that India is currently experiencing with an ‘ageing society’. As per the report, “the relatively young India of today will turn into a rapidly ageing society in coming decades.”
This home is an initiative dedicated to assisting and caring for the elderly, letting them know that they are loved and cared for.
The phenomenon of population ageing is becoming a major concern for policy makers all over the world, both for developed and developing countries. Our country too is not immune to this demographic change. The joint family system has been prevalent for a long time in India and the children cared for their aged parents.
However, in recent times, there has been a change in the family structure and the traditional joint family system is on the decline. Industrialisation, urbanisation, and migration of population have brought the concept of nuclear family, as a result of which a section of the family, primarily the elders, are confronting the problems of financial and physical support.
A 2015-16 All India Senior Citizens’ Confederation (AISCCON) survey shows that 60% of elderly people living with their families face abuse and harassment, 66% are either ‘very poor’ or below the poverty line and 39% have been either abandoned or live alone. Thus, there is a need to take care of older adults, with a focus on social and mental well-being, economic and social security and elder abuse.
Considering all these factors there seems to be a need to understand the experiences of older adults in order to adopt effective mechanisms by which they will be cared for and respected and will be able to live a life with dignity. This has led to the emergence of community care and old age homes in India.
Condition of Old Age Homes In India
The Government of India took steps by enacting the ‘Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act’ (MWPSCA) in 2007. The MWPSCA makes it mandatory for legal heirs (child/ relative) to provide care to their older parents or relatives after they attained the age of 60 years or above.
Let’s join hands to give them respect, love and a new abode.
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The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJE) prepared the ‘National Policy for Senior Citizens’ in 2011, which states that “institutional care should be seen as the last resort” for senior citizens. In furtherance of this policy, the MoSJE implements the ‘Integrated Programme for Old Persons’ (IPOP), which provides support for the establishment and maintenance of OldAge Homes, day-care centres, mobile medical units, regional resource & training centres and formation of senior citizen associations.
The States are expected to establish and maintain ‘Old-Age Homes’ for the care of senior citizens, with at least one old-age home for 150 persons to be provided in every district. However, the demand for Old-Age Homes is not evenly spread across the States/UTs due to different socio-economic conditions.
The Distribution of Old Age Homes
As per the website dadadadi.org, there are 728 Old Age Homes in India today. Information of 547 homes is available and out of these, 325 homes are free of cost while 95 old age homes are on pay & stay basis, 116 homes have both free as well as pay & stay facilities and 11 homes have no information. A total of 278 old age homes all over the country are available for the sick and 101 homes are exclusively for women.
Kerala has 124 old age homes which is maximum in any state. Also, research conducted by Tata Trusts estimated that the total capacity across senior living facilities is currently at 97,000 beds (rounded). The study indicates that the need for senior living may rise to around 8 to 10 lakh beds in the next 10 years, which is an 8 to 10 fold increase over the current base implying a compounded increase of ~25 % annually each year.
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Though some states have a dedicated senior citizen cell and dedicated helpline numbers for the elderly, we need to go beyond these measures to ensure the safety and security of the senior citizens. Elderly Care becomes more relevant in India as social security and affordable healthcare of acceptable quality are not accessible to the majority of Indians.
I believe there is a need to have community-based day-care centres for the elderly providing services such as skill building, financial and legal advice, entertainment, exercise and other ways of active ageing, with effective linkages with the public health system. Specific attention is needed to build capacity in home-based and community-based care for the elderly. At the family level, stronger intergenerational bonding is a priority while at the community level, greater participation and involvement of the elderly is important.
We could achieve this through various partnerships between the government and various NGOs focused in elderly care. The government should increase the fund allocation to this sector and there should be a convergence of central and state initiatives, as well as private and voluntary initiatives to achieve comprehensive development in tune with people’s aspirations and local potential. Increased collaboration and awareness in this field will help alleviate the problems faced by the elderly.
How CSR can contribute to Community Development?
In India’s context, considering the enormity of the Elderly Care need, governmental measures and initiatives need to be supplemented through active support from companies, businesses, and other socially responsible sections of society.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not a new concept in India. A significant number of Indian companies have long practiced some form of CSR with the broad goal, simply, of contributing to the well-being of the communities they affect and with the intention to give back to society and environment on which they depend. CSR is a commitment to support initiatives that measurably improve the lives of underprivileged by one or more of the focus areas under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013 and Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules 2014.
If you come across any underprivileged elderly who have been a victim of abuse or is homeless, kindly refer them to us.
Through the Indian Companies Act 2013, India became the first major country to enact a law making it mandatory for larger and more profitable companies to spend 2% of their average net profit of three prior financial years on CSR. Schedule VII of the Companies Act 1956, lists the permissible CSR activities that a company obligated under Section 135 can include in mandatory spending out of net profits. Clause (iii) of the referred Schedule includes setting up old age homes, day care centers and such other facilities for senior citizens.
As per the CSR 2018 report by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), spending in areas of Education and Healthcare accounted for ~66% of the total spending for the year 2017-18 (up from ~61% in the year 2014-15). On the other hand, spending in areas of ‘Old Age Homes’ has consistently declined. The report states that companies spent a total of Rs. 484.4 crores (~4.5% of total spending) in the year 2014-15, which declined to a mere Rs. 189.92 crores (~1.5% of the total spending) in the year 2017-18.
Thus, giving social, economic, emotional security and dignity to elderly people should be a collective responsibility of the enabled and awakened society. There is an urgent need of spreading awareness on contemporary issues and problems being faced by elderly people. Special sensitization programme among youth population is required. Greater awareness creation of Senior Citizen Act, 2007; national toll free number, multipurpose elderly care centres in districts across the nation, weekly program on DD national channels and FM radios can help a lot in sensitizing and making aware the mass.
The well-being of senior citizens is of utmost importance for harmonious existence for all societies in the years to come. While a lot needs to be done in this regard, strategies have to align with goals to ensure reliable and comprehensive elderly care so that the problems faced by Elders are effectively addressed and their existence is not treated as a burden on society but they retain their rightful status as mentors, guides and active contributors in a country’s development and economic growth.
About the Author
Manik loves to spend time with his family, listening inquisitively to the stories his grandparents share. He has always been passionate about helping society and thus gave up his Investment Banking career to pursue his passion. Having majored in finance, he wishes to increase financial literacy and awareness in the country.