Retirement societies spread in cities as elderly seek care and company

As India ages, the market to serve the elderly is expected to be worth almost $18 bn in five years

Ramanan Rajaraman planned living in his apartment in Bengaluru when he retired after working for a state-owned company. Then he and his wife read about a retirement or senior living community in Karnataka’s capital city and decided to move there after renting out their apartment.

“In a regular gated community, community activity is less and interaction with neighbors limited. In a senior living community, practically everyone knows each other and this creates a pleasant atmosphere,” says Rajaraman, 76.

A typical senior living community provides residents dining, housekeeping, clubhouse, group activity, and attendants. “Of course, one tends to see different age-related ailments and death at close quarters and accept the same as part of life,” says Rajaraman. 

The market for senior living societies in India was worth $11.16 billion in 2024 and it is expected to reach $17.99 billion by 2029 by growing at a compound annual growth rate of 10 per cent, according to data from ANAROCK Group. Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Noida are Tier-I cities where senior living communities are common and Coimbatore, Vadodara, Dehradun and Kanchipuram are prominent Tier-II cities which are getting demand for such residential projects.

“Region wise, the southern cities have a nearly 70 per cent share of these projects, coinciding with the demographic assumption that elderly population growth in the southern states will grow at a faster pace than the rest of India,” says Santhosh Kumar, vice-chairman of ANAROCK, a real estate consultancy.

“A buyer (of a senior society home) must thus be very careful and do his due diligence and check for the type of facilities on offer. The buyer must also check for any hidden costs with regard to medical or any other facilities. Like any other regular projects, leasing is also possible in many of the projects,” he says.

The industry can be categorised into three major heads: senior living, care homes, care-at-home, according to Tara Singh Vachani, executive chairperson at Antara Senior Care and vice-chairperson at Max India, which is building India’s largest integrated “senior care ecosystem”. “We are the most organised player in India and have managed to at least change the nomenclature and language from senior living to senior care industry. Worldwide this industry actually is called senior care, and it encompasses various different products and services.”

Senior living residential communities are designed – better lighting and mobility facilitation are details in the architecture – for the elderly. Such communities include Perungudi Projects in Chennai by Athulya Assisted Living, Ashiana Nirmay in Bhiwadi and Delhi-NCR by Ashiana Housing, Athashri Developed in Pune by Paranjape Schemes, Parkside Homes in Bengaluru by Brigade Orchards, and Antara Senior Living in Dehradun.

"As Indians live longer and healthier, there is a huge demand coming for lifestyle, travel, health, medical, and senior living. Recognizing the shifting societal norms, the acceptance of senior living is gaining traction, resulting in steady growth within the sector," says Ankur Gupta, joint managing director at Ashiana Housing, a real estate company.

Ashiana’s senior living societies in Bhiwadi, Pune, Chennai, and Jaipur provide people aged 55 and older with designed homes and personal assistants. The societies have emergency medical services, ambulances, doctors and nurses. All residential units have an emergency response system. 

Assisted living societies serve residents who need significant care and nursing assistance. Such societies employ care workers for assisting residents who need occupational and rehabilitation therapy. “Dementia care is the most critical aspect of assisted living senior care which requires institutionalised care and at their centre,” says Dr Vandana Bhasin, head for quality at Kites Senior Care, an assisted care community in Bengaluru.

“The entire day (in the society) is structured in a scientific manner. In the morning, residents do yoga followed by breakfast. Then a psychologist comes and conducts cognitive exercises, puzzles and games. All these activities, done collectively, help from a companionship point of view. Lot of patients have shown great improvement and everything is based on scientific research and evidence. Often these dementia patients are above 70 and remarkable improvement is difficult to achieve but this helps improve quality of their life, nonetheless,” says Bhasin.
 

Some leading assisted care projects include The Golden Estate in Faridabad, Vedaanta Senior Living in Coimbatore, Anandam Retirement Community in Bengaluru, Athulya Assisted Living at Chennai, and Epoch Elder Care and Antara Care Homes in Gurugram.

“The cost of care home and care-at-home services can vary based on various factors such as location, level of care, size of accommodation, amenities and services,” according to a spokesperson from TechSci Research, a market research and consulting service company. “On an average, the cost of a care home in India can range between Rs 45,000 and Rs 80,000 per month. On an average, the cost of 24-hours nursing care at home can range between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000 per month.”

Care-at-home industry serves senior citizens who do not want to live in a retirement community or are too frail. Companies like Emoha and Nightingales provide trained attendants who help seniors at their homes in bathing, dressing, eating, physiotherapy and running errands. The assistants help the elderly by preventing bedsores, assisting them in moving about and providing foot and nail care.

There was a time when parents of Indians settled abroad opted to live in premium senior housing options. Today, it is a choice many Indians living in the country have made. “More than 50 per cent of our customers have children living in India and around 10 per cent to 25 per cent of customers have children living in the same city. The numbers vary from region to region within the country,” says Sivakumar V, director at Columbia Pacific Communities. The company has 10 senior living communities in Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Chennai, Kanchipuram and Puducherry and has projects coming up in Pune, Chennai and Kerala. A one bedroom, hall and kitchen (BHK) unit in a Columbia Pacific society sells for an average price of Rs 64 lakh. The average monthly maintenance starts at Rs 30,000 for a person staying in a 1BHK apartment. The company has two and three BHK units as well.

Some senior living communities provide rented homes. “We have around 20 per cent of customers who are tenants and 80 per cent who have moved-in as owners," says Sivakumar. “Customers can either purchase or rent an apartment in our communities. We offer rental and resale services to our owner-customers.”

In retirement, the elderly need friends and company. Dr Sumithra Gajapathy, 89, made new friends when she moved to Manasum Senior Living society in North Bengaluru after working as a physician for 60 years. "Until the pandemic I was working, quite a busy life I had. After the pandemic started, I became very lonely. Manasum was introduced to me by my nephew,” she says. “I am very happy staying here because people around me are very, very friendly."


Key senior living housing projects

City	Project/ developer	Price in (Rs)
Bhiwadi, Delhi/NCR	Ashiana Nirmay by Ashiana Housing	33 lakh, 37 lakh
Dehradun	Antara Dehradun, part of The Max Group	2 cr, 8 cr
Noida	Antara Noida Sector 150	1.08 cr, 2.21 cr
Pune	Athashri by Paranjape Schemes	43 lakh, 74 lakh
Coimbatore	Serene Shenbagam by Columbia Pacific Communities	65 lakh, 1.10 cr
Coimbatore	Madhuban by Covai Property Center	56 lakh, 1.3 cr
Bengaluru	Parkside Homes by Brigade Orchards	47 lakh, above
Bengaluru	Riva Residence by Tata Housing	45 lakh,70 lakh
Chennai	Arumbakkam, Perungudi by Athulya Assisted Living	55 lakh to 90 lakh

Source: TechSci Research