NITI Aayog pitches for tax reforms, mandatory saving plan for elderly

Government think tank NITI Aayog has pitched for tax reforms, mandatory saving plan, and housing plan for elderly in India, as the population of senior citizens is projected to reach 19.5 per cent of the country's population by 2050.

In a report titled 'Senior Care Reforms in India - Reimagining the Senior Care Paradigm', NITI Aayog said a national portal for senior care must be developed for senior citizens to provide easy access of services to them.

"Since the social security framework in India is limited, most seniors depend on the income generated from their savings. Variable interest rates result in the erosion of their income, sometimes even below sustenance levels.

"Therefore, a regulatory mechanism is required to set a viable base rate for the interest accrued on senior citizen deposits," the report said.

The report emphasised that giving a further concession to older women will contribute to their financial well-being.

The elderly in India currently comprises a little over 10 per cent of the population, translating to about 104 million, and is projected to reach 19.5 per cent of the total population by 2050.

The report also suggested that the government should reassess the reverse mortgage mechanism to increase liquidity for seniors and by making necessary amendments to the current reverse mortgage rules.

"Tax and GST reforms, etc, on senior care products (needed) to increase the ease of adoption and safeguard the elderly population from the financial burden," the Aayog said.

Population ageing is a global phenomenon, and the number of people over 60 years of age has been rising rapidly across the world.

India, too, is witnessing an exponential growth in the number and proportion of elderly people, coupled with decreasing fertility rate (less than 2.0) and increasing life expectancy (more than 70 years).

The report also called for earmarking CSR funds as a contribution to national funds for care provided to the non-affording category of the elderly in their facilities.

It also stressed on developing partnerships with the private sector through various PPP models to encourage private medical care at discounted prices to senior persons across the medical care cycle, from consultation to diagnostics to treatment.

Noting that catering to the needs of the elderly population of this size is challenging, the report said it also presents an opportunity for the growth of the senior care industry, which is estimated at USD 7 billion (Rs 57,881 crore).

More than 75 per cent of elderly people in India suffer from chronic diseases and these figures indicate the potential of the home-based care market in India.

As per the report, the size of the home healthcare market in India was estimated at USD 6.2 billion (Rs 50, 840 crore) in 2020 and it is projected to reach USD 21.3 billion (Rs 1.74 lakh crore) by 2027.

The home healthcare market can lead to a 15-30 per cent reduction in infrastructure and operational costs compared to hospital costs for the same treatment, ita added.