All Papers/Social Work with Older Persons (2025-26)/Q10
Q10
15 Marks

Part C (Q10): Discuss in detail the policies and legislative provisions for the welfare of older persons in India.

Expert Answer

India, recognizing the rapid growth of its elderly population and the breakdown of the traditional joint family system, has instituted several policies and legislative frameworks to protect the welfare of older persons.

1. Legislative Provisions

The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 This is the most crucial piece of legislation protecting the elderly in India. Prior to this, seeking maintenance involved lengthy civil suits. This Act made it a legal obligation for children (or heirs) to provide maintenance to senior citizens.

  • Legal Obligation: It legally mandates children (including adult sons, daughters, and grandchildren) or relatives (who stand to inherit the property) to provide adequate maintenance to parents/senior citizens so they can lead a normal life.
  • Maintenance Tribunals: The Act establishes special Maintenance Tribunals (presided over by a Sub-Divisional Magistrate). The process is designed to be quick (disposal within 90 days), inexpensive, and does not require lawyers.
  • Revocation of Property Transfer: A very powerful provision (Section 23): If a senior citizen transferred their property to their children on the condition that the children would take care of them, and the children subsequently abandon them, the Tribunal can declare the property transfer void.
  • Punishment for Abandonment: Abandoning a senior citizen is a criminal offense punishable by up to 3 months in prison or a fine up to Rs. 5000.
  • State Obligations: It directs state governments to establish at least one Old Age Home in every district.

2. Policy Frameworks

National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP), 1999 This was India's first comprehensive policy recognizing the elderly as a vulnerable group needing state intervention.

  • Core Philosophy: It shifted the focus from merely providing "charity" to empowering the elderly and recognizing them as a resource.
  • Key Areas: It focused on financial security (expanding pension coverage), healthcare (subsidized medical care, geriatric wards), shelter (promoting old age homes), and protection against abuse.
  • Concessions: It laid the groundwork for the various concessions elderly people receive today, such as income tax rebates, higher interest rates on savings, and travel concessions on trains and flights.

National Policy for Senior Citizens (NPSC), 2011 (Revised draft) This policy updated the 1999 framework to address newer challenges, focusing heavily on the "feminization" of aging (the vulnerability of older women) and rural-urban disparities.

  • It emphasized "ageing in place" (helping the elderly stay in their own homes rather than institutions).
  • It pushed for mainstreaming geriatric care in the public health system.

3. Welfare Schemes

  • Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS): Under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), the central government provides a monthly cash pension to destitute older persons (Above 60 years) belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) households.
  • National Programme for the Health Care of the Elderly (NPHCE): Launched to establish dedicated geriatric departments in district hospitals, providing specialized healthcare for age-related illnesses.
  • Integrated Programme for Older Persons (IPOP): Provides financial grants to NGOs to run Old Age Homes, Day Care Centers, and Mobile Medicare Units for the elderly.
  • Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY): Provides free physical aids and assisted-living devices (wheelchairs, hearing aids, spectacles) to BPL senior citizens suffering from age-related disabilities.