New Delhi: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday urged India’s young start-ups to come up with innovative and out-of-box solutions to the everyday problems faced by the elderly.
Addressing the gathering after presenting the National Award-Vayoshreshtha Samman-2021 in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, the Vice President said, "In principle, I do not like to address them as 'older persons' but prefer to call them as elderly. I would urge everyone to address aged people as elderly and not as older persons. This is also in line with our culture and traditions."
The various strata of the society need to be sensitised towards the challenges faced by the elderly as the problems relating to old age are not experienced nor fully comprehended by others and media and NGOs should take up sensitisation drives to educate people in this regard, he said.
"The need of the hour is for NGOs to act as a support system to the elderly and supplement the efforts of the government and its agencies. They can play a proactive role in generating awareness on the problems of elderly people and help in strengthening inter-generational bonding, Naidu said.
The vice president conferred the Vayosheshtra Samman' awards to the elderly and NGOs for their contributions.
Naidu also launched a National Helpline (Elder Line) during the award function. Noting that senior citizens are a highly vulnerable group, the Vice President lauded the helpline in bringing in an easy and efficient grievance redress mechanism to protect them. The helpline set up by the Government in collaboration with Tata trust will function 12 hours a day to resolve the grievances of senior citizens from across the country.
Naidu praised the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on the initiatives for the welfare of elderly. “Your consistent efforts to ensure a dignified and comfortable life for the elders are indeed laudable,” he told the officials present. He also appreciated the SAGE (Seniorcare Aging Growth Engine) portal designed by the Ministry to encourage entrepreneurs in the area of elderly care as a timely initiative.
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According to the Census of 2011, India has an elderly population of 10.38 crore. This constitutes about 8.6 per cent of the total population. Based on the rate of growth, the population of the elderly in India is projected to reach about 14.9 per cent of the total population, by 2036, Naidu noted.
The vice president said that the phenomenon of an ageing population throws up major challenges both to society and the government.
One of the main challenges is to ensure timely and proper medical care to the elderly. Other issues include protecting the rights of the elderly, preventing their neglect and abuse by their children and relatives, he said.
Noting that many senior citizens lead an active life, Naidu said their experience and skills should be used meaningfully for the nation's growth and development and wherever needed, training should be imparted to them for upgrading their skills.
Referring to the various challenges in the well-being of the elderly, Naidu said that the Government and Parliament are taking necessary initiatives to create the right policy framework for the care of the elderly. He called upon state governments and local bodies to proactively follow-up and implement these programmes.
Emphasizing the need to sensitize the society towards the challenges faced by the elderly, he appealed to media and NGOs to take up sensitization drives to educate people in this regard. He also suggested that wherever needed, senior citizens should be imparted training to upgrade their skills.
Congratulating all the institutions and individuals who were honoured today with ‘National Award- Vayoshreshtha Samman 2021’, the Vice President said that their work will inspire others to follow the path of service.
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