Care Homes for Elderly Ones in India- The Need of the Hour
Hindrise Foundation is marching ahead with the support of care homes for elderly ones in India and is gearing up to add the flavour of blissful moments along with sunshine in their lives. The Elderly often do not have financial protection and other forms of social security in India. The single most pressing challenge to an elderly person’s welfare is poverty, a multiplier of risk for abuse. Migration of the younger generation, lack of proper care in the family, insufficient housing, economic hardship, and joint family break-up has made the care homes for elderly seem more relevant even in the Indian context.
Population aging is an inevitable and irreversible demographic reality associated with welcome improvements in health and medical care. With longevity and declining fertility rates, elder persons (60 years and above) are globally growing faster than the general population. When the population age rapidly, the government is often caught unprepared to face and mitigate the consequences. It also affects the socio-economic and health status of the elderly. The percentage of elderly people in India has been increasing in recent years. Therefore, the population share over the age of 60 is projected to increase from 8% in 2015 to 19% in 2050. By the end of century, the elderly will constitute nearly 34% of the country’s total population.
Problems Faced by the Old Age People
Elderly people are much more vulnerable because there is less support from the social security system. The elderly in the urban area primarily hired domestic help to meet their basic needs in an increasingly-chaotic and crowded city. Social isolation and loneliness have increased amongst elderly people. In addition, pre-existing illnesses are usually not covered, making insurance policies unviable for the elders. Pension and social security are also restricted to those who have worked in the public sector or the industry’s organized sector. Almost half of the elderly people felt neglected and younger people had an indifferent attitude towards the elderly.
The elderly are a heterogeneous section with an urban and rural divide. All the elderly cannot be seen in the same view as the needs and problems of the elderly are different. It is generally found that a major proportion of the elderly women were poor; the older people received the lowest income per person. It has also been seen that older people have the highest negative psychological conditions and have the least health insurance coverage.
Why Care Homes for Elderly Ones is a Major Requirement?
The traditional Indian society has the concept of a joint family system, which was an instrumental in safeguarding the social & economic security of the elderly people. However, the traditional norms and values of Indian society have also laid down stress on showing respect and providing care for the elderly. Presently, with the emerging prevalence of nuclear family set-ups, the elderly are likely to feel emotional, physical, and financial insecurity in the family. There is the upward trend in the living arrangement pattern of the elderly either staying alone or care homes for elderly. The elderly’s family care seems likely to decrease in the future with the nation’s economic development and modernization.
Migration of the younger working-age people from rural areas to urban has impacted the lifely of elderly. Living alone is usually results in social isolation, poverty, and mental distress. Older age people prefer to live in their own homes and community. However, they need physical support for health care and manage household chores, which has given rise to care homes for elderly.
With increasing chronic diseases, many elderly citizens require better access to physical infrastructure. Lack of physical infrastructure is a major problem for elderly people. Unattended chronic disease, unaffordable medicines, and treatment are part of India’s old age life as there is no affordable health care system. Many elderly citizens require access to physical infrastructure, which is well provided in care homes for elderly.
Government Schemes for Old Age People
There are some important schemes which are discussed below:
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
This scheme gives a one-year accidental death and disability cover, renewable every year. The scheme is offered and administered by Public Sector General Insurance Companies and by General Insurance Companies. All savings bank account holders till the age of 70 years old can join the scheme. It offers coverage of ₹200,000 for death. The premium is ₹12 p.a. per member, deductible directly from the member’s bank account. However, the policy is terminated on the attainment of age 70 years or the closure of bank account or insufficiency of balance for the insurance in force. The scheme was started in June 2015 and monitored on a yearly basis to review the experience and make mid-course corrections.
Atal Pension Yojana
Even in later years, the economic compulsion to work in an unorganized sector with no pension benefits is mainly associated with income insecurity in old age. The Indian government started the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) in June 2015 for those persons engaged in the unorganized sector and were not members of any statutory social security scheme. This scheme is administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.
Under this Yojana, the subscribers would receive the fixed pension of ₹ 1,000 to ₹5,000 monthly from the age of 60 years onward, depending on the contribution, which will vary with the age of joining the Atal Pension Yojana. The minimum age of joining is 18 years, and the maximum age is 40 years. Hence, the period of contribution by the subscriber under pension Yojana will be 20 years or more. The government will contribute 50% of the subscriber’s contribution or ₹1,000 per annum.
Health Insurance for Senior Citizens
There is a logical extension of the ongoing low premium on general insurance (Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana), on life insurance (Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana), and the pension plan (Atal Pension Yojana). It gives small savings for providing health insurance cover to the elderly. It is to implement through the Department of Financial Services of the Ministry of Finance. It is to link this to the bank accounts of beneficiaries to transfer the subsidy to the accounts directly. The government subsidize the premium for BPL elderly by up to 90% through direct benefit transfer.
Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana
The scheme is a part of the government’s commitment to financial inclusion and social security during old age and protects those aged 60 years against a future fall in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions. The scheme also provides an assured pension based on a guaranteed return rate of 8% p.a. for 10 years, with an option to opt for pension on a monthly/quarterly/half-yearly or on an annual basis.
The scheme has been implemented through the Life Insurance Corporation of India. The differential return, that is, the difference between the return generated by LIC & the assured return of the 8% per annum, will be borne by India’s Government as a subsidy on an annual basis.
Scheme for Providing Aids & Assisted Living Devices to Senior Citizens below Poverty Line
The Hon’ble Minister has approved a scheme for providing Physical Aids and Assisted Living Devices for Senior Citizens belonging to the BPL category of Social Justice and Empowerment. The scheme aims to provide senior citizens belonging to the BPL category and suffer from any related disability/infirmity, such as low vision, hearing impairment, loss of teeth, and loco motor disability.
The assistive devices to be provided will be of high quality and according to the standards laid down by Bureau of Indian Standards. Initially, the scheme was launched in two districts each of all States as well as in two districts of NCT of Delhi, and in one district each of the remaining 6 Union Territories. In the subsequent years, it has been implemented in four districts, each in twenty larger States, two districts each in the remaining nine States, and also in NCT Delhi and one district, each in the other six Union Territories.
Senior Citizens Welfare Fund
A Senior Citizens Welfare Fund was established in March 2016. The fund consists of unclaimed amounts transferred by government institutions holding such funds. This will be utilized for the senior welfare schemes, in line with the National Policy for Senior Citizens, including schemes for promoting senior citizens’ financial security, the welfare of elderly widows, schemes relating to old age homes, day care centers, etc. The fund will be administered by an international committee, with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment as the fund’s nodal ministry administration.
Hindrise Efforts towards Care Homes for Elderly
Hindrise as an organisation has created awareness among older adults and their families; and is a care giver organization for care homes for elderly or old age homes about the needs, experiences, and coping styles of older adults. Our organization Hindrise wants to empower older adults to be emotionally vibrant about living positive and fulfilling lives. It will help reduce the stress and difficulties of living in care homes for elderly, and it also enables older adults to experience the joys of living in their twilight years.
A large fraction of older adults lives in care homes for elderly without the support of immediate family support. Therefore our volunteers have come forward to show an interest in exploring the life experiences and the coping styles of these older adults. We need to admit that residing in old age care homes for elderly is challenging and stressful. In India, the ‘old age home‘ is no longer a western concept. There are care homes for elderly in India that are making an effort to uphold the needs, desires, and values of older people while also creating and fulfilling new ones, and we are supporting them from our end.
We Believe in Fostering Psychological Development
To facilitate a meaningful, fulfilling, and satisfying life in older adults, we are helping them stay positive and hopeful. To enable this, we have a special emphasis on Psychological development in Elderly people. It focuses on mental power and positive aging and offers a new perspective to help older adults live a fulfilling, happy, and vibrant life. For the older people who live in care homes for elderly and are lonely, we have programs that will help renew confidence and faith in them. We want to enhance mental health by instilling a sense of hope, optimism, self-efficacy, wellbeing, and resilience in elderly people.
Hindrise has initiated requisite and more appropriate social welfare programs to ensure life with dignity for the elderly. In addition, we are on the road to developing an integrated and responsive system to meet the care needs and challenges of the elderly in India.
Conclusion
Older adults take time to adjust to a new environment when they relocate to an institution, which they have to call home, i.e., care homes for elderly. They take time to transform their perspective of themselves and their environment; they actively reflect on their life experiences and the struggles and cope with them, as this helps them create a meaningful existence within the context of care homes. They eventually get completely involved in a life they are supposed to live. In addition to this, older adults’ holistic needs such as social, mental, financial, spiritual, and physical needs are to be considered to promote a purposive and meaningful life for them.
It is important to know the social aspects concerning the aged in the country as they go through the process of aging. Increased life expectancy, fast urbanization, and lifestyle changes have led to the emerging of various problems for elderly people in India. It has to be remembered that comprehensive care to the elderly is possible only with an involvement and collaboration of family, community, and the Government.
India must prepare to meet the growing challenge of caring for its elderly population. All social service institutions or care homes for elderly in the country need to address the social challenges to elderly care to improve their livelihood.