FY – 2021-2022
A budget of Rs.10,517.62 crore was allocated for the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment for financial year 2021-2022.

Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana (AVYAY), formerly National Action Plan for Senior Citizens (NAPSrC) which is the Centrally Sponsored Scheme, was assigned a total budget for the welfare of Senior Citizens at Rs.533.81 crore for FY – 2021-2022.

Amongst other welfare schemes for the elderly, there was a proposal for grant to set up / fund existing or new 163 Senior Citizen Homes. The total budget allocation for funding new / existing residential facilities for senior living was Rs.55.09 crore for FY – 2021-2022.

FY – 2020-2021
A budget of Rs.8207.56 crore was allocated for the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment for FY – 2020-2021.

In National Action Plan for Senior Citizens (NAPSrC) 2020-2021, the annual budget allocated was Rs.365 crore.

Amongst other schemes, there was a proposal for grant to set up / fund existing or new 250 Senior Citizen Homes. The total budget allocation for funding new / existing residential facilities for senior living was Rs.67.15 crore in 2020-2021.

The larger point of debate and concern is, where and which are the 163 and 250 Senior Citizen Homes for the FY 2021-2022 & 2020-2021?

How does the industry and concerned citizens get to know of the actual development / progress on the ground??

I hope this year’s budget allocation for Elderly Care is proportional to the population of Senior Citizens in the country. 

As the country moves towards a digital friendly format, it is important to have a transparent system of showcasing the amount spent from previous budgets and the progress / number of beneficiaries impacted.

Pankaj Mehrotra