Nov 19, 2024
“I still use checkbooks at the bank and don’t own credit cards, debit cards, or any net banking app,” says R. Sampathkumar, an octogenarian from Chennai. A retired deputy manager from Indian Oil Corporation, he is recovering from knee surgery performed seven months ago. He lives with his wife in Chromepet and receives a Rs.5,300 annuity from Life Insurance Corporation.
Dependent on his children for most needs, he tells Frontline that people often forget about seniors like him. “Public facilities aren’t planned with old people in mind. The railway station near my house has no escalators, so I must climb stairs whenever I travel. It’s really tough for me.” The digital divide, he adds, makes things even harder.
For 81-year-old H. Jayam, leaving her house is a daily challenge. She suffers from joint pain that restricts her movements. A former private school teacher, she tells Frontline: “I used to walk in the park before COVID-19 but had to stop because of my health.” Diabetic for several years, she underwent dialysis in 2014. Now in better health, she keeps busy with simple household chores and cooking for her family. “I’m happy I can still help them, even at this age,” she says.
On October 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a health insurance scheme for all senior citizens aged 70 and above, regardless of income, under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). The scheme aims to “overcome the despair of the poor when illness strikes”, with the government covering hospital expenses for beneficiaries up to Rs.5 lakh.
Indians have long considered themselves superior to much of the world in treating the elderly, citing mythological stories to show respect for the old. Sadly, modern facts do not bear this out. An Observer Research Foundation (ORF) paper published in September 2024, titled “Caring for the Elderly: Need for a Sensitive Approach”, states that “40 per cent of elderly people in India are in the poorest wealth quintile, while about one-fifth have no income”.
The Longitudinal Ageing Survey of India (LASI) 2020, conducted between April 2017 and December 2018, found that “at least five per cent of the elderly had faced abuse, some from those closely related to them”. This figure is especially alarming given the growing elderly population.
Source: The Hindu