{"id":74879,"date":"2026-05-26T18:08:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=74879"},"modified":"2026-05-26T18:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:40:10","slug":"kerala-senior-citizens-welfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-05-2026\/kerala-senior-citizens-welfare","title":{"rendered":"Kerala\u2019s Dedicated Senior Citizens Welfare Department"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The government in Kerala has decided to establish a separate Department for Senior Citizens\u2019 Welfare to address the growing challenges associated with population ageing, and social isolation among elderly citizens.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Elderly Population in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India&#8217;s senior citizen population is projected to surge to around <strong>230 million by 2036,<\/strong> making up about 15% of the total population.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Women constitute a larger share of the elderly population due to higher life expectancy, leading to the<strong> feminisation of ageing.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The sex ratio among the elderly stands at<strong> 1,065 females per 1,000 males<\/strong>, with women accounting for<strong> 58% <\/strong>of the elderly population, out of which<strong> 54%<\/strong> are widows.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Southern states<\/strong>, along with <strong>Himachal Pradesh and Punjab<\/strong>, have higher elderly populations, with regional disparities expected to widen by 2036.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Kerala is Ageing Faster than Other States<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Kerala has the highest proportion of elderly population in India. Around <strong>18.7%<\/strong> of Kerala\u2019s population is above 60 years of age, compared to the national average of nearly 11\u201312%.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>By 2036, the elderly population in the State is projected to exceed 22%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Economic Review 2025<\/strong> by the Kerala State Planning Board said that the <strong>old-age dependency ratio <\/strong>(defined as the number of old people per 100 working population in the 15-59 year group) is currently at <strong>26.1%<\/strong>, against a national average of 15.7%.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Challenges Faced by Senior Citizens in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs): <\/strong>Elderly citizens are highly vulnerable to non-communicable diseases such as, <strong>diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cancer etc.<\/strong>, requiring continuous treatment and long-term healthcare support.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Increasing Multimorbidity:<\/strong> Multimorbidity refers to the presence of<strong> two or more chronic diseases <\/strong>in the same individual.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Elderly individuals suffering from multiple diseases face; <strong>frequent hospitalisation, high treatment costs, reduced quality of life and increased dependency<\/strong> on caregivers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Social Isolation: <\/strong>Rapid urbanisation and migration have weakened traditional joint family systems in India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Many elderly citizens experience <strong>loneliness, depression, anxiety and emotional neglect.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inadequate Geriatric Healthcare Infrastructure: <\/strong>India has fewer than <strong>1,000 certified geriatricians <\/strong>for a senior population exceeding <strong>150 million.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Healthcare systems remain more <strong>focused on curative care<\/strong> rather than elderly-friendly preventive and supportive care.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities<\/strong> often face shortages of medicines, assistive devices, rehabilitation equipment, medical consumables etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>High Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Expenditure:<\/strong> Continuous medication and repeated hospitalisation creates financial burdens for families caring for elderly members.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives for Elderly in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Atal Pension Yojana (APY):<\/strong> Launched in 2015 to ensure old-age income security for unorganised sector workers. It provides a guaranteed monthly pension (\u20b91,000\u2013\u20b95,000) post-60 years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY):<\/strong> Launched in 2017 to distribute assistive living devices (hearing aids, walking sticks, wheelchairs, etc.) to BPL senior citizens or those with income below \u20b915,000\/month.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Senior Care Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE) Portal:<\/strong> Promotes start-ups and innovation in elderly care services, encouraging the growth of the silver economy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ayushman Bharat \u2013 PMJAY: <\/strong>It Extends \u20b95 lakh annual health coverage to around 6 crore senior citizens aged<strong> 70 years and above, <\/strong>across 4.5 crore families.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007:<\/strong> Makes it a legal obligation for children and heirs to provide maintenance to their parents.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mandates state governments to establish old-age homes and ensure senior welfare services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Promote Digital Literacy for Seniors: <\/strong>Launch targeted training programmes through community centres, NGOs, and Panchayati Raj Institutions to familiarise elderly citizens with smartphones, telemedicine, and digital banking platforms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Elderly Care Policy:<\/strong> India should create an integrated elderly welfare framework combining healthcare, nutrition, mental health, and social security services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Encourage Innovation in the Silver Economy:<\/strong> Support start-ups and enterprises developing assistive technologies, AI-based health monitoring tools, and user-friendly applications tailored for elderly needs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/kerala\/kerala-govts-decision-to-set-up-dedicated-senior-citizens-welfare-department-hailed-as-timely\/articl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The government in Kerala has decided to establish a separate Department for Senior Citizens\u2019 Welfare to address the growing challenges associated with population ageing, and social isolation among elderly citizens. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Elderly Population in India <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India&#8217;s senior citizen population is projected to surge to around 230 million by 2036, making up about 15% of the total population. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Women constitute a larger share of the elderly population due to higher life expectancy, leading to the feminisation of ageing. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-05-2026\/kerala-senior-citizens-welfare \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74879"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74881,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74879\/revisions\/74881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}