Lok Sabha Question No. 223 (STARRED), answered on 2025-12-16
Subject: Welfare Schemes for the Senior Citizens
Ministry: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
Asked by: Shri Manish Jaiswal, Shri Chandra Prakash Joshi

:

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT LOK SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO.223 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.12.2025

## WELFARE SCHEMES FOR THE SENIOR CITIZENS

## *223. SHRI MANISH JASWAL

## HRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI

## Will the Minister of SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the funds allocated and utilised under the Welfare Schemes for the Senior Citizens during the last three years, year and scheme and district-wise particularly in the State of Rajasthan and West Bengal; and
- (b) whether the Government proposes to expand the scope of the schemes being implemented for senior citizens particularly for strengthening old age homes, assistive device distribution camps and geriatric health services in Hazaribagh and Ramgarh districts and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT (DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR)

(a) to (b): A statement is laid on the Table of the House

*****

Statement in reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No.223 for answer on 16.12.2025 by Sh. Manish Jaiswal and Sh. Chandra Prakash Joshi on "Welfare Schemes for the Senior Citizens"

(a)

- I. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing an umbrella scheme, namely Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana (AVYAY) for the welfare of senior citizens across the country. Details of all the components of Atal Vayo Abhuydyay Yojana being implemented in the country including the States of Rajasthan and West Bengal are as under:
- i. IPSrC(Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens)- Grant-in-aid is provided to the organisations for maintenance of senior citizen homes (Sr.CH), continuous care homes (CCH), mobile medicare units (MMU) and physiotherapy clinics. Total number of senior citizen homes been supported by this Department is 706 including 23 in Rajasthan and 30 in West Bengal.
- ii. SAPSrC (State Action Plan for Senior Citizens)- The Ministry releases funds to the States/UTs for implementation of their action plans.
- iii. RVY (Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana)- The scheme aims for providing Physical Aids and Assisted Living Devices for Senior Citizens below poverty line or with the family income not exceeding Rs. 15,000/-per month. The scheme is being implemented since 2017.
- iv. Elderline- The National Helpline for Senior Citizens (14567) is to generate awareness about the Act, schemes & programmes being executed by different Central & State Governments and to provide platform to redress grievances of senior citizens across the country. Elderline is not operational in the State of West Bengal.
- v. Training of Geriatric Care Givers- The Department trains individuals in the field of Geriatric Care givers. This scheme component is in operation from FY 2023-24.
- vi. Other Initiatives for Senior Citizens- The initiatives are aimed at involving the elders in building up knowledge which can be useful for the society as a whole. Statewise funds are not released under this component.
8. VIl. Seniorcare Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE) - The main objective is to promote outof-the-box and innovative solutions for the commonly faced problems, 09 innovative start- ups are identified and encouraged for developing products, processes and services for the welfare of the elderly.
- II. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in October 2024 expanded Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana(AB PM-JAY) to provide free health cover of Rs. 5 lakh per year to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status, except in West Bengal where AB PM-JAY is not implemented.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also launched a "National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly" (NPHCE) in 2010-11 to address various health related issues of elderly people.

III. Ministry of Rural Development implements National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) under which financial assistance, in form of pension. One of the components under the scheme is Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme under which assistance of ? 200/- per month to persons in the age group of 60-79 years is provided and R 500/- per month to persons of 80 years and above is provided.

is.

Funds released during last three years in the above schemes and their components are given at Annexure-I.

(b)

I. Expansion of the scope of the schemes is a continuous process and is dependent upon the proposals received form the State Government. For distribution of aids and assistive devices, Pradhan Mantri Divyasha Kendras have been opened across the country where eligible senior citizens(below poverty line or with the family income not exceeding Rs. 15,000/-per month) can walk-in and receive the required aids and assistive devices.

II. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has estimated 11,54,024 individual senior citizens(70+ years of age) under the Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana in the State of Jharkhand.

Further, under NPCHE geriatric healthcare services are delivered through the government healthcare facilities across the country

The details of implementation of the above schemes and their components in the State of Jharkhand particularly in Hazaribagh and Ramgarh districts are at Annexure-Il.

•

## Funds released including the states of Rajasthan and West Bengal during the last three years

## A. Atal Vayo Abhuydaya Yojana

## i. Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens(IPSrC)

| Financial Year   |   Total |   Rajasthan |   West Bengal |
|------------------|---------|-------------|---------------|
| 2022-23          |   72.31 |        1.21 |          3.32 |
| 2023-24          |  118.95 |        3.55 |          7.2  |
| 2024-25          |  125.42 |        1.94 |          3.95 |

## i State Action Plan for Senior Citizens(SAPSrC)

| Financial Year   |   Total | Rajasthan   | West Bengal   |
|------------------|---------|-------------|---------------|
| 2022-23          |   11.74 |             | -             |
| 2023-24          |   21.19 |             | -             |
| 2024-25          |   16.91 | 0.26        | 2.81          |

## ili. Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana(RVY)

| Financial Year   |   Total |   Rajasthan |   West Bengal |
|------------------|---------|-------------|---------------|
| 2022-23          |   88.84 |        1.47 |          0.03 |
| 2023-24          |   59.32 |        2.71 |          1.21 |
| 2024-25          |  208.29 |        5.51 |          1.04 |

## iv Elderline

| Financial Year   |   Total | Rajasthan   |
|------------------|---------|-------------|
| 2022-23          |   33.49 |             |
| 2023-24          |    9.62 | 0.44        |
| 2024-25          |    9.23 | 0.39        |

## v. Training to Geriatric Care Givers

| Financial Year   |   Total |   Rajasthan | West Bengal   |
|------------------|---------|-------------|---------------|
| 2024-25          |   45.82 |        5.77 |               |

## B. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana(AB PM-JAY)

## As of 31st October 2025, more than 89.51 lakh cards have been created under the Ayushman Vay Vandana category for senior citizens. Funds released are as under:

| Financial Year   |   Funds released |
|------------------|------------------|
| 2024-25          |            56.62 |
| 2025-26          |           292.92 |

(Rs. in Cr.)

(Rs. in Cr.)

(Rs. in Cr.)

(Rs. In Cr)

(Rs. in Cr.)

(Rs. in Cr.)

...

## C. National Programme for Healthcare of the Elderly

State Program Implementation Plan(SPIP) approval and expenditure for National Programme for Healthcare of the Elderly (NPHCE) under National Health Mission (NHM) is as under: -

(Rs. in Lakhs)

|                | Rajasthan     | Rajasthan   | West Bengal   | West Bengal   |
|----------------|---------------|-------------|---------------|---------------|
| Financial Year | SPIP Approval | Expenditure | SPIP Approval | Expenditure   |
| 2022-23        | 31.40         | 16.81       | 274.36        | 147.57        |
| 2023-24        | 31.40         | 20.31       | 229.05        | 145.67        |
| 2024-25        | 3380.00       | 62.73       | 118.92        | 180.41        |

## D. Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme(IGNOAPS) under National Social Assistance Program (NSAP)

Funds released under this component are as under:

| Financial Year   |   Total |   Rajasthan |   West Bengal |
|------------------|---------|-------------|---------------|
| 2022-23          | 6827.55 |      443.91 |        381.44 |
| 2023-24          | 6778.5  |      211.41 |        567.02 |
| 2024-25          | 6843.95 |      399.86 |        460.52 |

(Rs. in Cr.)

:

The details of implementation of the schemes and their components in the State of Jharkhand particularly in Hazaribagh and Ramgarh districts

## A. Atal Vayo Abhuydaya Yojana

- i. IPSrC: The details of senior citizen homes, number of beneficiaries are as under:

| Details    | Number of Senior Citizen Homes   | Number of beneficiaries   | Funds Released during last 3 Years   |
|------------|----------------------------------|---------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| Jharkhand  | 15                               | 475                       | 2.27                                 |
| Hazaribagh | 1                                | 25                        |                                      |
| Ramgarh    |                                  | -                         | :                                    |

(Rs. in Cr.)

- ii. RVY: Aids and assistive devices distributed to the senior citizens during the last three financial years are as under:

(Rs. in Cr.)

| Details    |   Number of Senior Citizen served | Number of devices distributed   |   Funds Utilized |
|------------|-----------------------------------|---------------------------------|------------------|
| Jharkhand  |                              4762 | 23,185                          |             4.7  |
| Hazaribagh |                                15 |                                 |             0.01 |
| Ramgarh    |                              1103 | 5,351                           |             1.23 |

- ili. Elderline: Total number of calls received on Elderline since 2021 in the State of Jharkhand is 5,871 out of which the total actionable calls were 1,343.
- iv. Training to Geriatric Care Givers: A total of 30 trainees have been trained in the state of Jharkhand
- V. National Programme for Healthcare of the Elderly

The details of these services provided in Hazaribagh and Ramgarh districts of Jharkhand State are as under:

| NPHCE Indicators                                                              | 2024-25 (April'24- March' 25)   | 2024-25 (April'24- March' 25)   | 2025-26 (April'25 to November 25)   | 2025-26 (April'25 to November 25)   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
|                                                                               | Hazaribagh                      | Ramgarh                         | Hazaribagh                          | Ramgarh                             |
| Number of elderly person (=/> 60 years of age) availed geriatric OPD services | 7291                            | 3857                            | 41059                               | 20376                               |
| Number of elderly person => 60 years of age) availed geriatric IPD services   | 476                             | 360                             | 824                                 | 506                                 |

- vi. Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme(IGNOAPS) under National Social Assistance Program(NSAP)

Total number of beneficiaries under Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme component of National Social Assistance Program in the state of Jharkhand is 8,50,503.

*****