Old-age homes to come up in every district; Union government tying up with local NGOs

New Delhi, June 6

The government is planning to establish old-age homes in every district of the country and has identified 250 districts where it will be tying up with local NGOs of the area, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference, Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar listed out various initiatives taken by his ministry in the last eight years.

He said the government is planning to establish an old-age home in every district of the country for the elderly.

He added that the ministry is tying up with local NGOs to set up such old-age homes.

A senior ministry official explained that initially 250 districts have been identified for the purpose and work is going on.

Meanwhile, he said the government has started a major reformulation of the schemes through which scholarships are provided to SC students owing to complaints.

Also for the first time, the students are getting the money directly to their accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme, the ministry official said, adding 41 lakh students have so far been benefited under it.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Kumar said the Senior Able Citizens for Re-Employment in Dignity (SACRED) portal and nine start-ups have been roped in for senior citizen employment seekers. The IT platform brings such employment seekers and providers together.

The senior ministry official said a strong movement is going on across the country under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan. The government is targeting to make 100 districts ‘nasha mukt’ this year as part of the campaign.

The minister also listed out various schemes that have been implemented for the elderly, SC, OBC, disabled and transgenders.

According to Population Census 2011, there are nearly 104 million elderly people (aged 60 years or above) in India; 53 million females and 51 million males.