World Senior Citizen Day is observed on August 21 every year to raise awareness regarding contributions of the elderly people to society. In India, people above the age of 60 years are considered senior citizens.
The day is celebrated with the aim of recognising the issues that an elderly individual faces in old age. In order to help senior citizens, the Central government has launched a number of initiatives for senior citizens to make things easy for them to avail and access.
Besides the financial incentives and higher interest rates on savings schemes, senior citizens are also offered various benefits on a wide range of services in India.
Here are some of the major concessions and benefits provided by the government to senior citizens.
Healthcare Benefits
As per the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare guidelines, for the registration and clinical examinations in hospitals, senior citizens are offered priority services. At government hospitals, there are dedicated lines and counters for senior citizens.
Senior citizens belonging to below poverty line (BPL) categories are offered additional health insurance coverage of Rs 30,000 per annum under the Senior Citizens Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).
Travel concessions
A
special concession for senior citizens is offered for
travelling in state roadways buses. Under this, two seats are reserved in the front row of all State Road Transport buses. Apart from this, many state governments provide bus fare concessions to senior citizens.
Most airlines provide up to 50 percent discount on normal economy class tickets for senior citizens on all domestic flights.
Telephone facility
The Department of Telecommunications also provides certain benefits for elderly citizens. Under the Non-Own Your Telephone (N-OYT) special category, which is a priority category, a senior citizen can register their telephone connection. Additionally, the faults and complaints of elderly customers are addressed on priority.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
