Niti Aayog organised a national workshop on “Strengthening Senior Citizen Care in India” at Thiruvananthapuram on September 27 in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJE), and the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, Kerala Government.

The workshop’s purpose was to elicit views of states and other stakeholders on existing gaps and challenges in senior citizen care and to learn from them their best practices, which can be replicated in other states and Union Territories (UTs) with their contextualization.

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The one-day national-level workshop was inaugurated by Dr R Bindu, Minister of Higher Education and Social Justice, Kerala and was chaired by Dr V K Paul, member (Health), Niti Aayog.

Kerala Chief Secretary Ms Sarada Muralidheeran, senior officials from MoSJE, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Ayush Ministry, Rural Development Ministry and other Ministries, besides Kerala and other States/UTs were present.

Sectoral and technical experts from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), World Bank, WHO India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of 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, the Aayog made a brief presentation on the context of the workshop, 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.

Dr V K Paul, in the closing session, reiterated the opportunity to build and reimagine a new national senior citizen care programme 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.