The first ever National Conference on Ageing was held by the Ministry of
Social Justice & Empowerment here today. Inaugurating the two day
conference the Minister, Kumari Selja said “It gives me immense pleasure
to be here at the National Conference on Ageing. During the course of
this Conference, we will deliberate on important issues relating to
senior citizens for further strengthening our efforts to strive for an
inclusive society - a society that embraces all ages. Our Government
believes that the interface between the State and the Social
Institutions in the care of the elderly forms an important area of
intervention and needs to be addressed comprehensively.
It is a well-known fact that the 21st century is witnessing a gradual
transition to an ageing society all over the world. Ageing poses twin
challenges. First, we need to ensure care and protection of the elderly
so that they can lead a healthy, dignified and productive life. Second,
the older people must be looked upon as partners in progress rather than
as a burden on the society, which is the case if their existence is
seen from the prism of contribution to the GDP.
As per the 2001 census, the total population of the Senior Citizens
(60+) was 7.7 crore. This was composed of 3.8 crore males and 3.9 crore
females. The population of the senior citizens thus constituted 7.5% of
the total population in 2001. The final figures of the 2011 census on
this subject are not out yet. However, as per the Report of the
Technical Group on Population Projections, constituted by the National
Commission on Population in May 2006,and published by the Office of the
Registrar General of India, this figure is projected to go up to 12.40%
of the population by 2026. The social implications of this demographic
shift will be profound.
The Government recognized the challenges posed by this demographic
change quite some time ago. We have been taking various initiatives to
ensure that the process of ageing for the people is both active and
productive. The existing National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP) was
announced in 1999. This envisages State support for the elderly to
ensure financial and food security, health care, shelter, protection
against abuse and exploitation, and training of human resources for
their care and support etc. An important element of the policy is that
it recognizes the need for special attention to vulnerable older
persons, particularly the older women, and the need for expansion of
social and community services for the older persons. The Policy is
sensitive to the need for the development of a social support system,
informal as well as formal, so that the capacity of families to take
care of the older persons is strengthened and they continue to care for
the older members in their family.
The Policy places value on an age-integrated society and recognizes that
the older persons, too, are a resource. The Policy seeks to assure the
older persons that their concerns are national concerns and that they
should not feel unprotected, ignored or marginalized. It aims to
strengthen the legitimate place of older persons in the society and help
them to live the last phase of their life with dignity and peace.
An institutional mechanism has been put in place to monitor the
implementation of the policy and to advise the Government in the
formulation and implementation of programmes for the aged through a body
called the National Council for Older Persons. This body has now been
renamed as the National Council of Senior Citizens.
More than twelve years have elapsed since the announcement of the
National Policy on Older Persons, 1999. Keeping in view the changing
demographics, socio-economic pattern and technological advances, the
Government is considering a revision of this Policy. A draft of the new
Policy has been prepared and is under discussion with the stakeholders
to ensure the widest possible consultation.
Giving legislative backing to the Policy, the Maintenance and Welfare of
Parents and Senior Citizens Act was enacted in 2007. This is a landmark
legislation in our response to the challenges of ageing. The Act, inter
alia, makes maintenance of parents and senior citizens by their
children, and where there are no children, by their relatives,
obligatory and justiciable through Tribunals. It empowers the senior
citizens to revoke any transfer of property, which they may have made
in favour of a relative, in case of negligence by such relatives. It
contains penal provisions for the abandonment of senior citizens; it
provides for the establishment of Old Age Homes for indigent senior
citizens; and it also envisages protection of the life and property of
senior citizens.
This Act has to be brought into force by individual State Governments.
The Act is not applicable to the State of Jammu & Kashmir, while
Himachal Pradesh has its own Act. As per the information available with
us, all the other State Governments and the Union Territory
Administrations have brought the Act into force in their respective
jurisdictions. However, the level of implementation of the Act by the
States and the Union Territories does not seem to be either uniform or
satisfactory. One possible reason for this could be the lack of adequate
awareness about the provisions of the Act amongst the civil society in
general, and the State Government functionaries in particular. This
situation needs to be corrected. The State Governments and the Civil
Society need to take a pro-active role in disseminating information
about the various provisions of the Act, so that the people become aware
of them.
Today, we have invited the State Ministers for Social Welfare/Social
Justice and the representatives from the concerned State Departments
amongst us. I am confident that they would be sharing with us the manner
in which the Act has been implemented in their respective States at the
grass roots levels and what more needs to be done. The Governments and
the civil society must join hands to ensure that this important
legislation is implemented both in letter and spirit.
In order to improve the quality of life of the older persons, the
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is implementing a flagship
scheme called the Integrated Programme for Older Persons since 1992.
This scheme seeks to provide basic amenities like shelter, food, medical
care as well as entertainment opportunities to encourage productive and
active ageing. Under the Scheme, financial assistance up to 90% is
provided to Governments/Non-Governmental Organizations/Panchayati Raj
Institutions/local bodies etc. The assistance is provided for running
and maintaining Old Age Homes, Day Care Centres, Mobile Medicare Units,
Day Care Centres for Alzheimer's disease/dementia patients,
Physiotherapy Clinics for older persons, sensitization programmes for
children in schools and colleges; Regional Resource and Training
Centres, etc. About 350 NGOs are being supported every year for running
and maintaining around 550 projects under the Scheme. Keeping in view
the rising cost of living, the cost norms of various projects under the
Scheme are under revision.
The demand for Caregivers for Older Persons has been increasing in the
recent past. To cater to this requirement, the National Institute of
Social Defence (NISD) is implementing a project called the National
Initiative for the Care of the Elderly. The main objective is to create a
pool of skilled care givers, and to enhance the capabilities of service
providers in the area of old age care. The Institute conducts One-Year
Post-Graduate Diploma Courses on Integrated Geriatric Care, Six-Months
Certificate Courses on Geriatric Care and One-Month Basic Courses on
Geriatric Care. Besides, the Institute also collaborates with reputed
institutions and organizations for running short term training
programmes for caregivers.
Various Central Ministries and Departments of the Government of India
are also implementing a number of welfare programmes for the senior
citizens. A few of these schemes are the Indira Gandhi National Old Age
Pension Scheme, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Rural
Development; the National Programme for the Health Care for the Elderly,
which is being implemented by the Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare; the income tax benefits, which are being extended by the
Ministry of Finance; the rail fare concessions which are being extended
by the Ministry of Railways; the air fare concessions which are being
extended by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Further, the Ministry of
Home Affairs has issued an advisory to the State Governments in 2005 to
ensure that the life and property of senior citizens is fully protected.
There are other schemes for the older persons which are also being run
by the Central Government through various Ministries. I am sanguine that
as a result of the deliberations of this Conference, some more schemes
may get added to the basket of schemes that already exists for the
older persons.
In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that the problems relating to ageing
pose serious challenges which need to be addressed on an urgent basis.
The main problems faced by the senior citizens in the country are
protection of their life and property, financial security, health care,
protection against ill-treatment, productive engagement and care and
support. The objectives of this Conference are to sensitize all
stakeholders on the issues pertaining to ageing, review the various
interventions of the Central Government and assess what more needs to be
done. The State Governments, the UT Administrations as well as the NGOs
and the Civil Society need to share the best practices and to draw up
suitable recommendations for more effective implementation of the
various programmes for the welfare of senior citizens”.
Present on the Conference were States Ministers of Social Welfare/Social
Justice, Shri Anil Goswami, Secretary, Shri Anoop Kumar Srivastava,
Additional Secretary, Shri T. R. Meena, Joint Secretary, Representatives
from International Agencies, Representatives from Central Ministries
and Departments, NGOs, Eminent Senior Citizens and officials of the
Ministry and the National Institute of Social Defence.
Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=88859
Our View: It looks an Eye Wash , the matter in the press release and Minister speech is same old story of 13 yrs........... it does not talk of new constructive steps and plan of action , lets await outcome of the this 'first ever' national conference by MSJE, govt of India . MOSJE lied when she talks about interface between Govt and Civil Society , the ministry promotes favoritism and is exclusive in its approach towards aging ; also almost more then 90% work in Ageing sector in India is done by Civil Society / NGO .
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