1,266 senior citizens receive assisted living devices

From walking sticks to wheelchairs, from hearing aids to spectacles, a total of 1,266 senior citizens here were on Sunday provided with more than 2,000 devices to lead a better life, an official statement said.

These devices were distributed at a camp organised by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on "Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana".

"The proposal for formulation of a scheme for providing physical aid and assisted-living devices for senior citizens belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) category was announced in the union budget 2015-16. Pursuant to this, the 'Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana'" has been formulated," said a Ministry statement.

The devices have been distributed to help the senior citizens to overcome their age-related physical impairment and to lead a dignified and productive life with minimal dependence on care givers or other members of the family, it said.

As per the census figures of 2011, the population of senior citizens in India is more than 10 crore and around 70 per cent of them live in rural areas.

A sizeable percentage (5.2 per cent) of the senior citizens suffers from some sort of disabilities caused as a result of old age. Projections indicate that the number of elderly population will increase to around 173 million by 2026.

This scheme is expected to benefit around 5,20,000 senior citizens over a period of three years, according to the statement.

--IANS

mg/vd