New Delhi: Reverse mortgage system to increase liquidity of senior citizens, tax and GST reforms on senior care products to increase the adoption and safeguard the senior population from financial burden are among a string of measures suggested by government think tank Niti Aayog.
“Encouraging the private sector to design targeted and comprehensive geriatric health insurance products and increasing liquidity and capital allocation to the senior care industry will help in addressing needs of the affording segment,” said the paper on senior care reforms in India, while suggesting action on four key areas, which include health, social, financial and digital.
It called for protection for the elderly from financial fraud by increasing awareness and literacy. “The government should reassess the reverse mortgage mechanism to increase liquidity for seniors and by making necessary amendments to the current reverse mortgage rules.”
The paper called for designing a robust digital inclusion, which calls for improving access to digital services, focus on increasing digital literacy, efforts should be made to harness potential of modern technology, such as, AI, internet of things, big data, and machine learning to take charge of routine procedures. Elderly in India currently comprises a little over 10% of the population, and is projected to reach 19.5% of the total population by 2050.
The paper estimated that by 2050, one in every four Indians will be a senior citizen. In absolute numbers, it will be equal to the population of the US for the industry in the form of a “silver economy”. The senior care industry in India is about $7 billion (approximately Rs 57,881 crore) and it is expected to grow rapidly, showing ample opportunity for the health care companies to create solutions for the silver generation, according to the paper.
It also called for involving the private sector in areas like building elder care homes, sponsoring medical units that can travel to remote & rural areas and designing new private sector insurance products for the elderly.
“Earmarking CSR funds as a contribution to national funds or for care provided to the non-affording category of seniors in their facilities in lieu of concessional land, utilities, tax rebates, etc,” according to the paper.
