Senior citizens are a vital pillar of society, contributing wisdom, experience, and cultural values to younger generations. With India’s ageing population growing rapidly, addressing their social, health, and economic challenges has become a national priority.

• A society's older population is a significant resource. Growing older is a natural process that comes with possibilities and difficulties. 
• Everyone 60 years of age or over is deemed elderly according to the National Elderly Policy.
• India has 104 million senior adults (60 years and above), or 8.6% of the total population, according to the Census of 2011. There are more women than men among seniors (60+).
• According to the Quality of Life for Elderly Index from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), the percentage of seniors in the population is expected to increase from 7.5% in 2001 to over 12.5% by 2026 and reach 19.5% by 2050.

Challenges Faced by Senior Citizens

Social Challenges for Senior Citizens

• Under the influence of industrialization, urbanization, technical and technological progress, education, and globalization, Indian society is undergoing a fast shift.
• Since intergenerational links were a defining characteristic of the traditional family, they are eroding and changing as a result of the conventional beliefs and institutions.
• Other issues:
• children's disregard for their elderly parents.
• retirement-related disillusionment.
• Elderly people feel helpless, lonely, worthless, and isolated.
• Generational Gap.

Health Challenges for Senior Citizens

• The most common health conditions are blindness, locomotor impairments, and deafness.
• Hospitals in remote regions lack geriatric care facilities. 
• A recent survey found that 30% to 50% of older persons reported depressive symptoms. Most elderly people who live alone are women, often widows.
• Poverty, ill health, and loneliness all have a significant link to depression.

Economic Challenges for Senior Citizens

• Retirement and ageing parents' reliance on their children for fundamental needs.
• Sudden rise in out-of-pocket costs for treatment.
• The elderly who live alone or with just their spouse suffer adverse effects, most commonly poverty and despair, as a result of the migration of young people of working age from rural communities.
• Inadequate housing options.
• According to a national study conducted by the NGO HelpAge India, up to 47% of older people depend on their families for financial support, 34% rely on pensions and cash transfers, and 40% of those polled said they would like to work "as long as possible."

Schemes for Senior Citizens 

• Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY): To provide financial security and a regular source of income to senior citizens.
• Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana: To provide regular income and financial security to senior citizens.
• Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana: To support elderly individuals in surmounting physical limitations associated with ageing and enabling them to lead a life of dignity and productivity.
• Integrated Programme for Older Persons: To improve the quality of life of the aged group by providing basic needs like food, shelter, opportunities etc.
• SAMPANN Project: Launched in 2018, for retired people from the Department of Telecommunications, to offer a smooth online method for processing and paying pensions.
• SACRED Portal: It was developed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, it allows anyone over the age of 60 to register and search for jobs and employment possibilities.
• Seniorcare Ageing Growth Engine(SAGE): It was started with the intention of assisting those people who are interested in starting their own business offering services for aged care.
• Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana: Under this scheme government has incorporated awareness-raising and sensitization programs with school and college students to enhance intergenerational ties.
• It attempts to give people, families, and groups information and educational resources so they can comprehend the ageing process better.

Way forward

• Protecting older people from impoverishment and all the ills that may accompany it is the first step towards ensuring that they live dignified lives.
• Near-universal social security pensions have been attained in the southern States as well as India's poorest States like Odisha and Rajasthan. 
• Further, redesigning the National Social Assistance Program, will make it much simpler for all States to take the same action.
• There is also a requirement of additional services and resources, such as health care, equipment for people with disabilities, help with everyday activities, recreational possibilities, and a healthy social life.
• A preferable strategy would be to include all widows and elderly or handicapped people as eligible, subject to clear and unambiguous "exclusion criteria".

Conclusion

• Eliminating the stigma attached to ageing in India is the first step in reducing the financial cost.
• Behavior change may be influenced by education, public awareness campaigns, and innovative projects like Switzerland's time bank.
• Furthermore, it is thought crucial to enhance our pension systems through increasing funding and coverage. To achieve this, the government must designate a particular budget for the elderly population.