Active Care Programme for Elderly

July 8, 2026

To keep themselves busy, a conscious person wants to work until the end, but in India, even young people can’t find suitable work immediately. Forget about the elderly, there are reports of them being abused by their sons and grandsons, or organizations for the elderly demanding financial relief from the government. In this situation, we want to report a change that began in 2004, at the beginning of this century. In the economic crisis that followed the tsunami in Tamil Nadu in 2004, the elderly also actively took up the task of working. This task was difficult because the state or central government policies had not yet developed serious plans for this, nor were they offering significant incentives. However, these elderly people remained discouraged even in such a financial crisis. They formed their own self-help group. Over the past few years, this campaign has expanded from Tamil Nadu to nine states. 42,000 elderly people have formed a network within these areas. This network needs to be expanded to all states. In such a situation, leaders, social reformers, and, to some extent, the administration can also step forward and carry forward the core principle of this self-help group of elderly people: help each other and become self-reliant. So far, 70 percent of the 42,000 elderly people have become self-reliant. Some elderly people started depositing Rs 50 each every month and, in 15 years, were able to provide loans totaling Rs 2.33 crore to their senior members. This generated an income of Rs 13 lakh, and each group member’s share became Rs 1.19 lakh. This is the story of the Supaul region of Bihar. People have started calling them millionaire elders. The Indian government, awakened to this situation, has adopted the model of “elder self-help groups” with the help of its Ministry of Rural Development. This model has also been incorporated into the National Rural Livelihood Mission, which the government runs. This card for elderly assistance is called the Vayavandan Card, which people obtain for medical treatment. When elderly people survived their fatal illnesses with its help, they founded such groups with the help of Help Age India. We don’t say that the joining of 42,000 elderly people in nine states in this country of 1.42 billion people is a significant achievement, but now that the Ministry of Rural Development has taken cognizance of this new development, we are compelled to adopt the concept of these self-help groups. Now let’s face the reality. This reality suggests that coordination between the administration, seniors, and social reforms is crucial for this. Due to their physical disabilities, seniors will be able to use their minds more and their bodies less. Therefore, they should be included in all tasks where guidance and advice are necessary to bring about change. When young people move forward to achieve this change, seniors should guide them with their life experiences at every step. It may be said that this is an ideal situation, but only after dreaming of an ideal situation can the harsh realities of reality be changed. Therefore, don’t distribute alms to the growing elderly population in the country; give them appropriate work, and then see how a solid foundation for reconstruction is laid in this country.