The 5th Meeting of the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSrC) was held under the Chairmanship of Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar, at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, in National Capital today.

The meeting was attended by Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Sudhansh Pant, Joint Secretary Senior Citizens Division Smt Monali P Dhakate, Members of the Council, representatives of Central Ministries/Departments, State Governments, experts, NGOs and senior citizen organisations to deliberate on key policy issues concerning the welfare, healthcare and empowerment of senior citizens.

Addressing the meeting, Dr. Virendra Kumar reiterated that the Government, under the leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi remains committed to ensuring that every senior citizen leads a life of dignity, security, good health and active participation in society. He emphasized that the welfare and empowerment of senior citizens constitute an integral component of the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047 and called upon all stakeholders to work in close coordination towards building an inclusive, age-friendly and caring society.

The Council carried out a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana (AVYAY) assessing the outreach, effectiveness and impact. The Council deliberated on the implementation of the Government's landmark initiative extending health insurance coverage under Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to all senior citizens aged 60 years and above providing health insurance coverage, irrespective of their financial background. The Council also deliberated upon the proposal for inclusion of Geriatric Caregivers services in the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rate card.

The Council also reviewed the action taken on the decisions of the 4th Meeting of the National Council for Senior Citizens. The Hon'ble Minister emphasized the need for expeditious implementation of the recommendations through close coordination among the line Ministries/Departments and States/UTs to ensure effective delivery of welfare services and benefits to senior citizens.

The Council further considered various suggestions and recommendations received from Non-Official Members, States and line Ministries/Departments on issues relating to social security, institutional care, active ageing, capacity building and community participation for enhancing the quality of life of senior citizens.

On the occasion, the Hon'ble Minister launched "SNEHA – Stories of Nurturing, Engagement, Happiness & Active Ageing", an e-book showcasing the major programmes, initiatives and achievements of the Department for the welfare and empowerment of senior citizens from October 2024 to June 2026. The E-book highlights the journey of 21 months of the Ministry's sustained efforts towards promoting healthy ageing, fostering active participation of senior citizens in nation-building activities and outreach with the theme of Ageing with Dignity.

The Council also appreciated the Department’s effort on launch of two flagship digital initiatives to strengthen technology-enabled governance in the senior citizen sector.

The JEEVAN (Joint Elderly Empowerment & Virtual Assistance Network) App has been developed to provide senior citizens and their families with seamless and unified access to welfare schemes and services through a user-friendly mobile platform. SHATAYU (Senior Holistic Care Assistance and Training for Your Utility) has been developed as a dedicated digital platform to avail the services of trained Geriatric caregivers emphasising the principle of Ageing at place.

The meeting pledged a renewed commitment to strengthen inter-ministerial convergence, leverage digital technologies for improving governance and service delivery, and promote healthy, active and dignified ageing for senior citizens across the country.

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