THE RISE OF GERIATRIC CARE FACILITIES IN INDIA

While the freehold model is more prominent in India’s Geriatric Care facilities, Hotelivate expects the rental model to become prevalent

- SHAILEE SHARMA

As per India’s population census of 2011, the country is home to ~104 million senior citizens, aged 60 and above. By 2026, this number is expected to grow to ~173 million. Life expectancy in India merely 20 years ago was 62.09 years which, by 2019, had increased to 68.7 years.

Owing to stellar scientific breakthroughs in healthcare and the resultant increase in life expectancy in the country, senior citizens, particularly in urban households, find themselves not only active but also able of an independent lifestyle. For many such people, depending on their children in their own old age is no longer the preferred option. Senior Living communities, therefore, are fast gaining popularity in a society that has shied away from the concept of ‘old-age homes’ for years.

GROWING INTEREST

In urban India, with nuclear families on the rise, elder family members oftentimes face loneliness, neglect or both as their adult children are busy balancing their work and personal lives while the grandchildren, if any, juggle their own education and extra-curricular activities. Adult children find themselves unable, and not always unwilling, to extend additional support to their parents. In such cases, while the elders’ basic needs of shelter, food, clothing and medical attention are certainly met, their desire for attention, conversation, emotional connect and social life remain unfulfilled.