Category: Blogs

Reverse Mortgage was launched in India with a lot of fanfare but unfortunately the scheme was a non-starter and could not meet it’s intended objectives.

The concept of Reverse Mortgage was conceptualized internationally to help senior citizens who are asset rich but cash poor.

The objective of this scheme is to help elders remain in their own homes at the same time, earn from the property till they are alive.

Some key points of the scheme are;

1) Periodical payments or a lump-sum for a maximum period 20 years.
2) Borrower(s) continue to stay in the house till they are alive or permanently move out of the house.
3) Borrower is not required to service the loan during his/her lifetime.
4) Loan amount is dependent on the value of house, age of borrower(s) & prevalent interest rate.
5) Loan amount may be used by the borrower for varied purposes including up-gradation/ renovation of residential property, medical exigencies, etc.
6) No capital gains tax

The larger point of debate is, why was Reverse Mortgage not accepted by the industry and by senior citizens themselves.

I guess the following reasons can be attributed depending upon the lender:

1) Only max 50% lump sum or max 15 lakhs
2) Max monthly receipt capped at ₹50,000/-
2) Typical loan amount given by the bank is 60-80% of house value
3) Maximum loan between 75 Lakhs – 2 crores
4) Very low loan amount from low value properties
4) Total interest payment to be paid to bank comes to 50-55% of the loan amount received
5) House should not be older than 20 years
6) 2-3% more expensive than normal home loan.

To conclude, Reverse Mortgage is a great concept which needs to be taken back to the drawing board, revised and updated for the benefit of Older People in India.

Pankaj Mehrotra

Elderly population is no more an insignificant number in the larger landscape of India, they are now a sizeable force to be reckoned with.

While there are numerous projections as to how 1 in every 5 Indians will be above 60 years by 2050, but then are we prepared to handle such a large population boom of Older People in the next 25 years?

The dynamics of Indian family structure will drastically change in the next 20 years, as a result there will be more Elderly living alone, especially older women.

The larger point of debate is, are these population demographics meant only for the census data or we do we see them as living beings who need and will need care?

India has approximately 1 Lakh Senior Citizen Care Homes Beds (0.10 million) for a Elderly Population of 140 million, which means there is 1 Bed for every 1400 senior citizens.

The stark reality is that, if as a country we do not start creating infrastructure and facilities which can cater to the growing population of Senior Citizens then we may have a big task at hand at a later date.

Today’s reality is tomorrow’s future which will not only affect the poor and underprivileged but also the middle class and the rich.

Pankaj Mehrotra

Hello Dementia, I hope all is well at your end, while it would have been nice to hear from you, but you are one friend who is not really welcomed, yet you have a way to gate crash the party.

Last time I met you was with my uncle, somehow he seemed to like you to the extent that he even forgot his family and friends only to be with you.

I remember how my uncle used to sneak out of the house only to be alone with you but unfortunately it used to give us nightmares looking for him on the streets.

You have a funny way of friendship, you turn some people aggressive while some become subdued, I think it’s not a good habit.

What type of a friend you claim to be, your friends eat their food and don’t even recall, they go to the washroom and then forget, again that’s not how a good friend should behave.

Dear Dementia, last time I saw a glimpse of you trying to enter my house uninvited, please understand you are not really welcomed, I saw one toast still left in the toaster, was that you?

Please be advised, your habit of barging into people’s lives without notice is not appreciated, it will be helpful for us as a family if you could give advance notice so that we are prepared to handle your tantrums and difficult nature.

Pankaj Mehrotra

We all spend tons of money on learning how to live and be happy, but seldom do we think about learning the Art of Dying.

The larger point of debate is, is Dying an Art or a Science?

Death and Dying are the two most fearful words in life, yet we don’t want to read the chapter about Dying, fortunately or unfortunately it’s the concluding chapter of the same book.

I don’t know how many people have faced Death? But then Google is there to give insights about how people’s mindset changes after meeting Death face to face.

Dying is no different from living; some of us die everyday and probably every minute, yet we get up the next morning to do the 9-5 rat race.

A few live a living death, whilst most people see death as the other side of the coin and keep playing the Russian roulette, to be honest, I don’t know who is right or wrong.

When death comes calling it’s an invitation to the beginning of the end, yet we fear it so much that we don’t let go of the breath, I guess that’s the connection between Life and Death.

Death is like the fear of bungee jumping or being claustrophobic or falling from the sky without a parachute, but then if one has faced near death, then I guess our outlook towards life changes…

When we leave the physical body we feel fear, which is natural as part of human nature, but then the difference between Human fear and Animal Fear is different. It’s the consciousness and the guilt which makes mortal humans fear death because animals do not overthink about Death and Dying..

Do we fear Death due to the pain associated with it or do we fear the pain associated with Death especially leaving our loved ones without taking care of them? I guess it’s the fear of leaving our parents and our children and not knowing how they will survive without us…

Death is typically seen as an end to our pitiful lives, but then, is Life possible without Death?

Death is beautiful because it’s a new journey to the unknown yet most of us fear the unknown, but then, we typically associate the unknown with fear and Death..

What if, dying was a choice and a free will? I wonder how many people would choose between Life and Death?

Pankaj Mehrotra

What is the main difference between a Developing Nation and a Socially Developed Nation? Yes, economic stability and citizens centric approach are the main aspects however, accessibility and inclusiveness are also equally important.

On one hand it’s easy to complain about the policies and infrastructure however it is equally important that, as concerned citizens we need to highlight, share and get things done from the concerned authorities, departments or people.

Spatial Planning may sound alien in our dictionary but then there is enough information about accessibility planning and guidelines.

The larger point of debate is, how many States, Departments and Agencies actually follow the guidelines?

Since the time Metro Rail and Low Floor buses were started to give an opportunity to people with special needs, I have not seen a single person on a wheelchair using public transport.

In such cases do we blame the transportation department or identify the hurdles which are stopping our cities, towns and villages from becoming accessible?

Unlike the developed countries where a person on a wheelchair or using any other assisted device can independently roam around in the city, but then in India, entering a bus stop, metro or railway station is practically impossible because the roads and curbs are not integrated in the correct alignment.

Spatial Planning, be it for children, young and the so called Old requires a collective and collaborative approach, the Public Works Department has to work alongside the Public Transportation Department, Town and Country Planning Department etc otherwise we can have the best of the facilities but then people with special needs will never be able to use them.

Be it the Public Parks, Restaurants, Malls, Offices or other Residential and Community Facilities, if they are not accessible to even enter then all the information and knowledge is of no use.

In a recent Session with the Masters of Design students at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, I had shared a few slides on Spatial Planning, sharing the first slide on how and where Older People move around in their daily lives.

Pankaj Mehrotra

The term Assisted Living was probably not there in the Indian dictionary till a decade ago, but then, like any developing nation, India too is learning the International terminologies about Aged Care.

From the days of Old Age Homes and Vridh Ashrams, we are gradually pulling ourselves out of the quick sand of Ageism, however we still have One Light year to reach.

Coming back to the topic of Assisted Living, it is an American perspective which basically meant Assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADL), however in my opinion the scope of the term is getting expanded. For example, helping a Person with eating, brushing, bathing, going to the toilet, walking, occasional cooking etc was typically considered as ADL.

Originally Assisted Living in America probably started with basically offering a warden in a housing complex which has now expanded it’s scope to many other services.

Luckily in India, the so called Developing Country, we all are born into Assisted Living Homes…. Someone comes to clean the car, do the dusting, mopping, clean the utensils, cooking, washing clothes etc.

The larger point of debate is, people who went and are going to the Developed Nations land up doing these basic household things themselves, whereas while in India most of them would not have done household chores.

Yes, the Socially Developed Nations are at an advantage about basic human sense and they value each life, but then, I wonder how many people can afford 7k – 10k 💰 Assisted Living Facility even after making all the moolah. (No intentions to hurt my American friends).

In today’s world, I feel in India, anyone earning 1.5k-3k thousand dollars a month lives an Assisted Living mode which is probably not possible in any of the so called Socially Developed Nations or the Developed Countries…..


Pankaj Mehrotra

The age gap between young and old has drastically reduced in the past 10-15 years. The oldies are getting younger by the day and probably the young are getting grey hair faster by the day.

Gone are the days when 60 years was the end of working life probably with a send off from office with a bouquet of flowers and a box of sweets.

In today’s world, working till 68-70 or as health permits is becoming a common norm, in fact, my old man worked till 75 and was climbing 14 floors to supervise as he was the project head that too after his first career of 40 years in the Armed Forces.

The larger point of debate is, is there an expiry date or a redundancy age for us? In my opinion it is both yes and no.

As we grow older our Physical health may not keep up with our mental agility or vice versa, but then, the third aspect which in my opinion is most critical is, do we become mentally dead just because of age or do we die because of physical health?

Some people give up on life easily just because they think they have got old, whereas some people do not give up on their youth just because they have got old.

The term Ageing is becoming more of an oxymoron, many young people in their 50 have started saying we are old whereas people in their 80s still feel they are young.

Ageing and agedcare is an interesting space to watch out for, eventually we all will technically get older as per the physical body but the, when our mental Ageing starts is a phase which is purely individual and unforeseen

Pankaj Mehrotra

As we grow older our health and wellbeing needs keep changing. Though the basic needs of the ageing process have not changed much but some new needs have emerged over the past few decades. The graph on mapping the Aged Care needs is an effort to show the progression of the levels of care with respect to ageing in years.

Pankaj Mehrotra

Though we all dream to have an ideal retirement life of sitting on a rocking chair and reading our favourite book or listening to our favourite music, but then is sitting on a Rocking Chair really advisable for Older People?

The larger point of debate is, is a Rocking Chair actually stable and easy to sit and get up especially for Seniors who have knee problems or gait / physical stability issues?

As per an article in LPA Medical inc, According to a clinical study of a clientele with a loss of autonomy, frequent use of a rocking chair improves balance and blood circulation, reduces muscle pain, anxiety and depression. 

“A very popular stereotype of elderly people involves them rocking on their veranda with satisfaction,” says Nancy Watson, a researcher at the University of Rochester School of Nursing. 

“It turns out that this activity really brings greater peace of mind to many people.” “It has been very well documented that a gentle repetitive movement provides a soothing effect to infants. We have shown that the same is true for an elderly population suffering from emotional distress.”

Another important question is, though a Rocking Chair may be good for mental health and physical balance, but it advisable for elders to use it all by themselves without any supervision?

Though there have been few researches on the benefits of using Rocking Chairs, but then I feel when it comes to older people who have Dementia, Parkinson’s there is need for more in-depth research especially for the oldest old.

No wonder they say “Keep Rocking in Life”.

Pankaj Mehrotra

There is definitely a positive movement in the Aged Care sector which has been simmering for sometime now and hopefully the boiling point is not too far away.

While on one hand, Ageing Policies and Legislative Acts impact each and everyone in the country, yet there seems to be a high level of ignorance, lack of awareness and/or unconcerned attitude on this subject.

The larger point of debate is, is it only the responsibility of a few policy makers to decide the future of 1.4 billion citizens or is it also the collective responsibility of all of us who are actually going to be impacted by the decisions of a few people?

India as a country is shining on the global map, but then there are certain important welfare areas where it needs to improve upon, one critical area is Elderly Care.

It is easy to complain about lack of welfare policies in the country but then how many people are actually bothered to understand their implications?

Most of us do not bother about welfare policies and programmes because we tend to think that they are only meant for the poor and underprivileged, the harsh reality is, most educated, urban and well-to-do class are financially stable hence do not really bother about such welfare schemes.

Since many young citizens are showing keen interest in the field of Senior Citizens Care, I am sharing the timelines on how the welfare initiatives in the country have developed over the years.

Anyone who is interested in Eldercare sector can have a look and in case I have missed out on something please do share your feedback.

Pankaj Mehrotra