By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, OCT 01, 2024: NITI Aayog organized a National Workshop on "Strengthening Senior Citizen Care in India" at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 27th September 2024, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJE), Government of India, and the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of Kerala. The purpose of the workshop was to elicit the views of States and other stakeholders on existing gaps and challenges in senior citizen care and to learn from the States, and other stakeholders, their best practices, which can further be replicated in other States/UTs with their own contextualization.

The one-day national-level workshop was inaugurated by Dr. R. Bindu, Minister of Higher Education and Social Justice, Government of Kerala and was chaired by Dr. V.K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog. Ms. Sarada Muralidheeran, Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala, senior officials from MoSJE, MoHFW, M/o Ayush, MoRD, other ministries - Kerala and other States/UTs, as well as sectoral and technical experts from PFRDA, World Bank, WHO India, IRDAI and other National and International  organizations participated in the event. The workshop was conducted as a part of the NITI-State workshop series, an initiative under the State Support Mission (SSM).

In the plenary session, NITI Aayog made a brief presentation to set the context of the workshop, which was followed by a detailed presentation by the Government of Kerala, on "Policy Reforms for Senior Care: Recounting the Experience in Kerala," highlighting the various initiatives being undertaken by the state of Kerala in addressing senior citizen care concerns.

The workshop was divided into four sessions, with a panel discussion and three interactive roundtable sessions, which focused on addressing challenges, sharing current initiatives and best practices in States/UTs, and paving the way forward for a holistic senior citizen care ecosystem in India.

The delegates brought forth views on strengthening senior citizen care, especially with respect to various facets of senior citizen care, from policy frameworks and healthcare provisions to digital literacy and financial security. The participants from 24 States and UTs were instrumental in sharing views from the ground and immediate challenges that need to be addressed.

Member (Health), NITI Aayog, Dr. V.K. Paul, in the closing session, reiterated the opportunity to build and reimagine a new national senior citizen care program that would address the huge unmet need for care and support for senior citizens. The way forward is to develop an overarching and holistic vision for inclusive and efficient service delivery for senior citizen care in India.