Forty-one per cent of senior citizens are suffering from multimorbidity in Chandigarh, according to India Aging Report – 2023.
The report – compiled by UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) India, in collaboration with IIPS (International Institute for Population Sciences) – was released in Delhi on September 27.
The report states that at least 30.5% of the senior citizens have no income, while 6.9 per cent of the senior citizens are suffering from poverty. A total of 15.6% of the senior citizens were covered under various health-related insurance schemes in Chandigarh.
The report ranks Chandigarh fourth on all-India list pertaining to knowledge about Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act (MWPSC), 2007, among its senior citizens (23.3%).
The top three being Chhattisgarh (62.5%), Puducherry (46.4%) and Assam (44.3%).
Chandigarh is ranked seventh on the “Annapurna scheme awareness” table, according to the report. The scheme is for those eligible senior citizens who have not received benefits under the National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS). As many as 18.5% of the senior citizens in Chandigarh are aware about it, the report has revealed. The states and UT ahead of Chandigarh in this category are Chhattisgarh (20%), Bihar (23.2%), Assam (30.2%), Puducherry (22.1%), and Tamil Nadu (26.9%).
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R K Garg, president of Second Innings Association, which works for the welfare of the aged, said, “The Chandigarh administration will have to upgrade the infrastructure to cope with the requirements of senior citizens whose number will increase in the coming years. The findings that 41% of the senior citizens are suffering from multimorbidity are alarming.”
The report was released by Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and Andrea M Wojnar, UNFPA India Representative and Country Director Bhutan.
When contacted, Director, Social Welfare Department, Palika Arora, said, “We are concerned about all the issues involving senior citizens in Chandigarh. Regular awareness camps are being organised in Chandigarh to make senior citizens aware about the welfare schemes for them including pension schemes. In fact, we have proposed a 100% hike in old age pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 in Chandigarh. In collaboration with the UT Police, we have started a move to identify senior citizens, who are staying at their homes alone.”
