Laws for the care of parents

April 2, 2026

Most people, consumed by the greed for material possessions, have cast morality aside. Such individuals care not only little for others but show no concern even for their own parents. Reports of parents being subjected to insult and disdain surface so frequently that hearing them sends shivers down one’s spine. Recently, Vijaypat Singhania—the owner of the Raymond Group—passed away.

Despite being a highly successful businessman, he had, some seven or eight years prior, handed over 37 percent of the company’s shares to his son. Subsequently, his life was spent in a state of destitution and despair; he ceased receiving the proper care and respect due to him. Such incidents are occurring in families across the economic spectrum—among both the destitute and the affluent. Reports of parents being murdered for the sake of property and assets continue to surface regularly.

The law, in fact, stipulates that if parents transfer their self-acquired property to their children, yet the children fail to provide care for them, the parents retain the right to reclaim their assets. A disturbing trend has taken root among the majority of people in the country: when, despite earning an income, they find themselves unable to fulfill their own needs, their parents invariably become the first victims of their neglect. Last week, the Telangana Legislative Assembly passed a bill titled the ‘Telangana Employees Accountability and Parents Assistance Monitoring Bill, 2026.’

This legislation includes a provision mandating that if a salaried employee fails to care for their elderly parents, a portion of that employee’s salary will be automatically deducted and disbursed directly to the parents.This law encompasses employees in both the government and private sectors. Under its provisions, up to 15 percent of an employee’s salary may be deducted and allocated to their parents.

This marks the first instance of such a law being enacted by a state government in India. While the ‘Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007’ is already in force nationwide, the bill recently passed in Telangana serves to further clarify and reinforce the accountability of children toward their parents.