Building a Holistic Care System for India

Syllabus: GS1/ Society,  GS3/ Economy

Context

• India’s care economy remains fragmented despite its critical role in women’s workforce participation, human development and support for an ageing population.

What is the Care Economy?

• Caregiving involves the physical, emotional, and social support provided to individuals who are unable to perform daily activities independently due to age, illness, or disability, according to the World Health Organization. 
• The Indian care services market was valued at USD 29.62 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.76 per cent, reaching USD 72.31 billion by 2030.

Components of India’s Care Economy

• Unpaid Care Work: It includes activities such as childcare, elderly care, cooking, cleaning, household management, and care for sick family members, which are essential for family well-being but remain largely unpaid and unrecognised.
• Paid Care Work: Paid care work includes services provided by healthcare workers, nurses, doctors, ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, domestic workers, childcare providers, social workers, and caregivers.
  • These services form an important part of India’s social and economic infrastructure.
• Community Care Services: Community-based care services include support systems provided through self-help groups, community health workers, and welfare programmes that assist vulnerable populations.

Why Does India Need a Holistic Care System?

• Women’s labour force participation: In the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2025, 44.4% of women outside the labour force cited childcare and homemaking as the main reasons for staying out of the labour force. 

• Unequal burden of unpaid care: India’s Time Use Survey 2024 found that 41% of women aged 15–59 provided unpaid care.
• Demographic Transition: An expanding elderly population is creating the need for long-term eldercare services in India. 
• Urbanisation and Migration: The joint family structures are being eroded because of rapid urbanisation and migration. Nuclear families are generally devoid of informal networks for caring support.

Government Initiatives Related to the Care Economy

• SHATAYU (Senior Holistic Care Assistance and Training for Your Utility) Dashboard: A dashboard, developed to support and strengthen caregiving services for senior citizens across the country, was also launched during the National Workshop on “Creating a Well-Functioning Care Economy” in 2026. 
• JEEVAN (Joint Elderly Empowerment & Virtual Assistance Network) Application: It is an accessible, citizen-facing mobile application engineered to serve as a single-window support ecosystem for senior citizens.
  • The app consolidates information on government welfare schemes, senior citizen homes, and support services. 
• Vayo Manasa Sanjeevani: It is an initiative to spread awareness and provide online education to promote mental health support among elderly persons and support healthy ageing. 
• Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0: Support early childhood care, development and nutrition through the Anganwadi network.
• Palna Scheme: Provides crèche facilities to support childcare, particularly for working mothers.

Initiatives Taken by the State Government

• Geriatric Caregiver Training Programme: The Government of Odisha runs a 3-month certificate course, which provides training for extending physical and mental health support to elderly persons. 
• Monthly Allowance for Unpaid Caregivers: Karnataka became the first state in India to introduce a scheme titled “Carer’s monthly allowance scheme” which provides a monthly allowance of Rs. 1,000 to parents of individuals with severe disabilities such as Cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. 

Challenges in Implementing Care Economy Reforms

• Fiscal Constraints: The expansion of the care infrastructure and staff training will require significant public investment and a long-term commitment to funding.
• Care is split across multiple Ministries, from women and child development to housing and urban affairs. Each runs valuable programmes, but without a common framework. 
• Social Attitudes to Care Work: Care work is still perceived as a private family responsibility and not a public policy issue.
  • Societal patriarchal traditions that are highly ingrained curtail the acknowledgement of unpaid caring work.
• Weak Regulatory Capacity: Ensuring quality standards and monitoring care institutions across India is an administrative challenge.
• Lack of Skilled Care Workforce: India does not have a properly trained care workforce, particularly in the areas of eldercare, disability care and early children care.

International Best Practices

• Colombia’s 2025 National Care Policy brings 34 government entities under one framework. 
• Brazil’s 2024 National Care Policy and 2025 National Care Plan set up inter-ministerial committees to steer implementation. 
• In Nepal, geospatial and demographic care mapping was utilised to identify gaps in childcare, eldercare, and disability support, turning data into local service prototypes and funding care pilots.

Way Ahead

• NITI Aayog’s Reimagining Care: Strategies for Empowering Caregivers in Viksit Bharat@2047 report proposes a National Caregiving Council to strengthen coordination
• States should map care needs, existing facilities and demographic trends to identify gaps in childcare, eldercare and disability support.
• Professionalise the care workforce: Introduce standardised training, certification and skill development for caregivers.

Source: TH