What Senior citizens Got From Rail Budget 2015

Senior Citizens population rise is on fast track and all government machinery, country's infrastructure, community services, communication, financial, health and social sector should also match up the demand from such growing Silver Population. 


#‎RailBudget2015‬ ‪#‎Railwaybudget‬ was interesting and awaited by all, as it was first rail budget of #Modisarkar, and high expectation from all quarters of society. There seems to be no appeasement but a progressive step ahead.

We at Silver Inning Foundation have been advocating for Rights, Dignity and Security of our Elders and we had demanded from Railway Minister #SureshPrabhu that  ‪#‎seniorcitizens‬ wants equal gender right and concession in fare; they need special coach in local suburban trains; need Elevators, rams, battery operated vehicle, baggage trolley on stations; want lower berths for reservations; more pilgrimage special trains; diet food; First Aids and medical care; easy and friendly road transport from stations, shuttle bus service and elder friendly design and architecture.

And we were happy that Railbudget has met some of our important demands.


Following are announcement which will help Seniors of this country, while making their trian travel comfortable:

Direct Benefit :
Any senior citizen or pregnant woman who's travelled by Indian Railways can attest to the difficulty in getting a lower seat berth while booking tickets, something that only gets more difficult once the train has been boarded. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu seems to have heard their plea and with his first railway budget made it easier for them to get berths that they can get into much more easily.
Prabhu announced that the number of lower berth seats reserved for senior citizens and pregnant women in every coach so that they have a higher chance of getting it while buying the ticket.
The minister also said that ticket examiners would be instructed to help senior citizens and pregnant women, who weren't alloted lower berths during the reservation process. Middle bay of coaches to be reserved for women and senior citizen.

The Railway Minister also said that they planned to allow senior citizens to reserve wheelchairs at stations before they arrived there so that they could be assisted in getting to trains. In order to make it easier for them to cross platforms, he said that the railways would work on increasing the number of elevators and escalators across stations.

The Minister also announced a slew of measures for the physically challenged, including better access to railway stations, Braille lettering on coaches and availablility of wheelchair facilities for them as well.

Lifts and escalators have been planned at major stations to facilitate easy movement of the elderly and differentlyabled passengers. An amount of Rs. 120 crore has been Page 21 of 53 provided for this purpose which is about 76% more than the final allotment in the current year. All newly manufactured coaches will henceforth be Braille enabled and Rail Coach Factory has been asked to explore the possibility of building wider entrances for the ease of differently-abled passengers.


Newly manufactured coaches will be Braille enabled; building wider entrances for the ease of differently-abled passengers

Accordingly, appropriation to the Pension Fund has been increased to Rs. 29,540 crore in RE


Indirect Benefit:  

No raise in fare 

Introducing 'Operation Five Minutes' to ensure that a passenger travelling unreserved can purchase a ticket within five minutes. 

Issuing unreserved tickets on smart phones.

Food can be ordered through the IRCTC website at the time of booking of tickets. 

Proposed to introduce an "SMS Alert" service to inform passengers in advance the updated arrival/departure time of trains at starting or destination stations. Similarly SMS alert would be sent 15/30 minutes in advance of arrival of the train at the destination.

Hand-held terminals will now be provided to Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs), which can be used for verification of passengers and downloading charts.

Online booking of retiring rooms has already been initiated. The facility of self-operated lockers would also gradually be made available at stations. It is proposed to provide concierge services through the IRCTC at major stations for the assistance of passengers for their pick up and drop.

To replace the present ladders used for climbing upper berths, which are uncomfortable with user friendly ones. We have approached the National Institute of Design for this purpose. Folding ladder would be made available in coaches for easy climbing.

 

IRCTC will work on Kisan Yatra, a special travel scheme.

But we were unhappy with #AGEDiscrimination in self-employment, promotion of products made by Self Help Groups. What Minister proposed:

To encourage self-employment, we will promote products made by Self Help Groups, consisting mainly of women and youth. Konkan Railway (KR) has already launched this programme in three states during the past three months. KR expects to generate employment for approximately 50,000 persons from this scheme in the next few years.

We at Silver Inning Foundation, raise our objection on age discrimination, and make this proposal for 'All Ages'. 

 

On the whole the budget seems to bring smile on Seniors, but still lots to be done, hope this is a step ahead, for many more good things to happen for our 60 plus population. 

 

Waiting now for #Budget2015 .....

 

 

Sailesh Mishra, Founder President, Silver Innings Group

 

Cultures That Celebrate Aging And Respect Their Elders: India

In India, elders are the head of the family.

Many Indians live in joint family units, with the elders acting as the head of the household. The elders are supported by the younger members of the family and they in turn play a key role in raising their grandchildren.

"Advice is always sought from them on a range of issues, from investment of family money to nitty-gritties of traditional wedding rituals and intra-family conflicts. And this is not just passive advice; their word is final in settling disputes," Achyut Bihani wrote in Slate. "The elderly are often the most religious and charitable members of the family."

Disrespecting the elders of the family or sending them to an old-age home has a social stigma in India, Bihani adds.

  

Sailesh Mishra of Silver Innings adds 'India is gradually undergoing a demographic change. With decline in fertility and mortality rates accompanied by an improvement in child survival and increased life expectancy, a significant feature of demographic change is the progressive increase in the number of elderly persons. Also due to globalization and migration the disintegration of the joint family system is taking place and the emergence of nuclear families, has affected the care of the aged the most. I feel currently Elderly are the most ignored and neglected segment in India'.

Courtesy:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/25/what-other-cultures-can-teach_n_4834228.html?ir=India

Cultures That Celebrate Aging And Respect Their Elders: China

Chinese children care for their parents in old age. 

As in Korea, Chinese families traditionally view filial piety and respect for one's elders as the highest virtue, deriving from the Confucian tradition. Although westernization has lessened the power of these values in some cities and communities, adult children are still generally expected to care for their parents in their old age.

"Placing your parents in retirement homes will see you labeled as uncaring or a bad son," Beijing resident Zhou Rui told China.org. "To abandon one's family is considered deeply dishonorable."

However, this tradition is beginning to break down in China, due to the country's one-child policy, rising life expectancy and an aging population. Nursing homes are beginning to become a more socially acceptable option for elderly care.

Courtesy: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/25/what-other-cultures-can-teach_n_4834228.html?ir=India 

Cultures That Celebrate Aging And Respect Their Elders: Korea

In Korea, elders are highly respected.

Much of the Korean regard for aging is rooted in the Confucian principle of filial piety, a fundamental value dictating that one must respect one's parents (although Confucius was Chinese, Confucianism has a long history in Korea). Younger members of the family have a duty to care for the aging members of the family. And even outside the family unit, Koreans are socialized to respect and show deference to older individuals as well as authority figures. 

"Few of those who are filial sons and respectful brothers will show disrespect to superiors, and there has never been a man who is respectful to superiors and yet creates disorder," Confucius wrote in Analects. "A superior man is devoted to the fundamental. When the root is firmly established, the moral law will grow. Filial piety and brotherly respect are the root of humanity.

It's also customary in Korean to have a big celebration to mark an individual's 60th and 70th birthdays. The hwan-gap, or 60th birthday, is a joyous time when children celebrate their parents' passage into old age. The age is thought to be reason for celebration in part because many of their ancestors would not have survived past the age of 60 without the advances of modern medicine. A similar large family celebration is held for the 70th birthday, known as kohCui ("old and rare").

Courtesy:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/25/what-other-cultures-can-teach_n_4834228.html?ir=India

Cultures That Celebrate Aging And Respect Their Elders: Native American

Native American elders pass down their knowledge.

Though attitudes towards death in contemporary American culture are largely characterized by fear, Native American cultures traditionally accept death as a fact of life.

There are over 500 Native American nations, and each has its own traditions and attitudes toward aging and elderly care. But in many tribal communities, elders are respected for their wisdom and life experiences. Within Native American families, it's common for the elders to be expected to pass down their learning's to younger members of the family, according to the University of Missouri, Kansas City.

Courtesy:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/25/what-other-cultures-can-teach_n_4834228.html?ir=India

Cultures That Celebrate Aging And Respect Their Elders: Greek

Aging isn't just a biological process -- it's also very much a cultural one. 

Different cultures have different attitudes and practices around aging and death, and these cultural perspectives can have a huge effect on our experience of getting older.

While many cultures celebrate the aging process and venerate their elders, in Western cultures -- where youth is fetishized and the elderly are commonly removed from the community and relegated to hospitals and nursing homes -- aging can become a shameful experience. Physical signs of human aging tend to be regarded with distaste, and aging is often depicted in a negative light in popular culture, if it is even depicted at all.

"There's so much shame in our culture around aging and death," Koshin Paley Ellison, Buddhist monk and co-founder of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, told the Huffington Post. "People themselves when they're aging feel that there's something wrong with them and they're losing value."
Psychologist Erik Erickson argued that the Western fear of aging keeps us from living full lives. "Lacking a culturally viable ideal of old age, our civilization does not really harbor a concept of the whole of life," he wrote.


Here's what we can learn from other cultures, both past and present, about embracing the aging process. 

Lets Talk First of Greek:

"Old man" isn't a bad word in Greek.

The Western cultural stigma around aging and death doesn't exist in Greece. In Greek and Greek-American culture, old age is honored and celebrated, and respect for elders is central to the family.  

Arianna Huffington described an experience of Greek elderly respect in her book, On Becoming Fearless: 
"Ten years ago I visited the monastery of Tharri on the island of Rhodes with my children. There, as in all of Greece, abbots are addressed by everyone as 'Geronda,' which means 'old man.' Abbesses are called 'Gerondissa.' Not exactly terms of endearment in my adopted home. The idea of honoring old age, indeed identifying it with wisdom and closeness to God, is in startling contrast to the way we treat aging in America." 

Courtesy: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/25/what-other-cultures-can-teach_n_4834228.html?ir=India