India, March 24 -- The Government of India has issued a release:

As per the report of the Technical Group on Population Projections constituted by the National Commission on Population, the proportion of the population of the older ages (60 years and above) is projected to increase from 10 crores in 2011 to 23 crores in 2036 - an increase in their share of the total population from 8.4 to 14.9 percent. Simultaneously, due to declining fertility, the proportion of the population aged below 15 years is projected to decline from 30.9 percent in 2011 to 20.1 percent in 2036.

NITI Aayog, in its position paper titled "Senior Care Reforms in India - Reimagining the Senior Care Paradigm", has assessed  the potential implications of the ongoing demographic transition towards the ageing population, including its impact on employment, social security, health services and the economy.

The Government has undertaken various measures to address the needs of the elderly and to ensure their care, social security and health, which include:

The Government has adopted a long-term approach through the National Youth Policy, 2014, which focuses on education, skill development, employment and entrepreneurship to harness the demographic dividend.  Various initiatives for skilling, health and youth engagement are being implemented to ensure a productive and future-ready workforce. These efforts aim to strengthen youth capacity, enhance workforce availability and address challenges arising from demographic changes in a balanced manner.

Annexure-I

Details of components under AVYAY scheme are as follows-

Annexure-II

The NPHCE is an articulation of the International and national commitments of the Government as envisaged under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP) adopted by the Government of India in 1999 & Section 20 of "The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007" dealing with provisions for medical care of Senior Citizens  The objective of NPHCE is to provide accessible, affordable, and high-quality long-term, comprehensive and dedicated healthcare services to the elderly.

 Components of the Program:

Package of Services:  The program has two components for provision of geriatric health care services i.e: district/ sub-district level component and tertiary level component. The package of services provided to elderly people at both levels is as given below.

Sub Centre:

Primary Health Centre: Weekly geriatric clinic by a trained Medical Officer (MO). Services would include: conducting health assessment of the elderly persons and simple investigation including blood sugar, etc.

Community Health Centre

 District Hospitals: 

 Tertiary Level

(A) Regional Geriatric Centers:

 (B) National Center of Ageing

Annexure-III

Under the NSAP programme, the old aged, widows, and disabled persons belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) and fulfilling eligibility criteria prescribed in the NSAP guidelines, are provided financial assistance, in form of pension, ranging from Rs.200/- to Rs.500/- p.m. and in the case of death of the breadwinner of such family, lump sum assistance of Rs. 20,000/- is given to the bereaved family. One of the components under the scheme is Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme under which assistance of Rs. 200/- per month to persons in the age group of 60-79 years is provided and Rs. 500/- per month to persons of 80 years and above is provided. 

Annexure-IV

The Department of Financial Services is implementing the Atal Pension Yojana(APY) which was launched on 09.05.2015 with the objective of creating a universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor, the under-privileged and the workers in the unorganized sector. It is open to all citizens of India between 18-40 years of age having a savings bank account in a bank or post-office. For better targeting of guaranteed pension to unorganized sector workers, an income tax payer shall not be eligible to join APY from 01.10.2022. The subscriber under APY is required to make a monthly/quarterly/six monthly contribution of an amount determined by the amount of pension chosen and the age of joining the scheme. The subscriber shall receive a government guaranteed minimum pension of Rs. 1000 per month, Rs. 2000 per month, Rs. 3000 per month, Rs. 4000 per month or Rs. 5000 per month, after the age of 60 years until death, depending on the contribution chosen. The spouse of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the same pension amount as that of the subscriber after the death of the subscriber. After the death of both subscriber and the spouse, the nominee of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the pension wealth, as accumulated till age 60 of the subscriber.  As per the scheme, subscribers will receive pension benefit on attaining the age of 60 years.

This information is given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri  B.L. Verma, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.