The NITI Aayog has released a position paper titled “Senior Care Reforms in India: Reimagining the Senior Care Paradigm” which, it says, is one of the stepping stones toward India’s commitment to achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat @2047.

The report was released on Friday by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery in the presence of Member (Health) Dr. Vinod K Paul, CEO B V R Subrahmanyam, and Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE) Secretary Saurabh Garg.

Speaking on the occasion, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery said, ”It is important to extensively prioritise the application of technology and Artificial Intelligence for senior care. It is time to start thinking about the special dimensions of senior care in addition to the medical and social dimensions.”

In his address, NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr. V K Paul said, “This is the time when serious discussions should emerge on making ageing dignity driven, safe, and productive. We need to ensure the social security of the elderly and add more emphasis to wellbeing and care.”

The recommendations in the document categorise the specific interventions needed in terms of empowerment, service delivery, and their inclusions under four core areas: Health, Social, Economic/ Financial, and Digital. It strives to push the frontiers of senior care by recognising the evolving medical and non-medical needs of seniors, thus envisioning a multi-pronged strategy for designing an effective and synergised senior care policy.

Among other things, the document stresses the need to develop a conceptual framework – based on the literature review and national and international experiences – in order to deliver a comprehensive response to the elderly that addresses the various limitations, including functional mobility and capacities.

It says priority areas of service delivery for senior care health empowerment and inclusion can be achieved by promoting health literacy among seniors as well as their caregivers, strengthening geriatric healthcare within the existing healthcare system, and making special provisions for seniors.

The document attempts to highlight the landscape of senior care services available, as well as the gaps and challenges in the current senior care ecosystem.