{"id":703,"date":"2026-09-04T00:57:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T00:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/health.dzwonkinatelefon.net\/new-senior-citizens-welfare-department-takes-shape-in-keralam\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T00:57:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T00:57:12","slug":"new-senior-citizens-welfare-department-takes-shape-in-keralam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/?p=703","title":{"rendered":"New senior citizens\u2019 welfare department takes shape in Keralam"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"schemaDiv\" id=\"schemaDiv\">\n<p>The newly created Department of Senior Citizens\u2019 Welfare, one of the highlights of the first Budget of the UDF government, is in the process of  becoming fully operational, with key posts being redeployed and proposals for a range of new welfare initiatives submitted to the government.<\/p>\n<p>The General Administration department has issued orders redeploying posts, including those of Additional Secretary, Under Secretary, Section Officer, Assistants and Computer Assistants, from the General Administration and Personnel and Administrative Reforms departments to the new department.<\/p>\n<div class=\"also-read print-hide\" data-ga-label=\"AlsoReadArticle\">\n<div class=\"element\">\n<div class=\"title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKerala govt\u2019s decision to set up dedicated Senior Citizens\u2019 Welfare department hailed as timely<\/div>\n<div class=\"picture\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/news\/national\/kerala\/242usf\/article71005614.ece\/alternates\/SQUARE_1200\/image.jpg\" data-src-template=\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/news\/national\/kerala\/242usf\/article71005614.ece\/alternates\/SQUARE_80\/image.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/theme\/images\/th-online\/1x1_spacer.png\" alt=\"\" data-device-variant=\"SQUARE~SQUARE~SQUARE~SQUARE\" class=\"media-object lazy adaptive placeholder lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The government had earmarked \u20b910 crore in the State Budget for the functioning of the department and implementation of senior-citizen welfare schemes. Proposals submitted for senior citizens\u2019 welfare include measures aimed at protection, care, healthcare, social security and productive ageing.<\/p>\n<p>The creation of a dedicated department assumes significance against the backdrop of Keralam\u2019s rapidly ageing population and the growing social, economic and healthcare challenges faced by senior citizens.<\/p>\n<p>The government proposes to move beyond welfare assistance to the elderly, to create a comprehensive programme for addressing the needs of the elderly.<\/p>\n<p>Silver economy, which encompasses economic activities based on the needs, purchasing power, skills, employment and entrepreneurial potential of older people, is proposed as an important component of the department\u2019s work.<\/p>\n<p>The new department has been assigned the task of  administering laws and rules relating to senior citizens, implementing the State\u2019s senior-citizen policy and centrally sponsored and State welfare schemes, managing the affairs of Kerala State Commission for Senior Citizens and that of elderly care homes.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"sub_head\">State-level directorate<\/h4>\n<p>Efforts are already under way to establish a State-level directorate for senior citizens\u2019 welfare and district-level offices and a State Governing Council to coordinate all welfare measures for senior citizens.<\/p>\n<p>The government is also planning to launch a comprehensive State-wide survey on senior citizens.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"sub_head\">24-hour helpline<\/h4>\n<p>The proposed  24-hour helpline for various emergency interventions on behalf of senior citizens will be coordinated at the field-level by a Rapid Response Team which will deliver the services to senior citizens. A Field Response Officer will head the RRT to ensure  immediate assistance to the elderly<\/p>\n<div class=\"also-read print-hide\" data-ga-label=\"AlsoReadArticle\">\n<div class=\"element\">\n<div class=\"title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPolicy address: Kerala unveils Senior Citizens\u2019 Welfare department, \u20b925-lakh insurance scheme<\/div>\n<div class=\"picture\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/3fe3su\/article71037089.ece\/alternates\/SQUARE_1200\/IMG_Nurse_consoling_her__2_1_53DDGKTE.jpg\" data-src-template=\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/3fe3su\/article71037089.ece\/alternates\/SQUARE_80\/IMG_Nurse_consoling_her__2_1_53DDGKTE.jpg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/theme\/images\/th-online\/1x1_spacer.png\" alt=\"\" data-device-variant=\"SQUARE~SQUARE~SQUARE~SQUARE\" class=\"media-object lazy adaptive placeholder lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A State Technical Advisory Committee and Senior Citizen Facilitation Desks in all local self-government institutions have been proposed. Initiatives are also being planned to promote greater interaction and cooperation between senior citizens and those belonging to the younger generations.<\/p>\n<p>A dedicated senior citizen services portal will be set up, which will establish an Elder Vulnerability Register, Kerala Care Workforce Register, Service Connect Directory and Productive Ageing Register.<\/p>\n<p>The establishment of District Senior Citizen Cells in all 14 district collectorates, certification processes for senior citizen-friendly government offices, a Dementia-Friendly Keralam initiative and senior citizen-friendly health protocols and neighbourhood support networks for elderly persons with Kudumbashree support are in the final stages<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UDF government\u2019s first Budget allocated \u20b910 crore to support a range of welfare initiatives for the State\u2019s rapidly ageing population.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}