“It is good to figure in the Union Government’s scheme of things. And to have schemes brought in specifically for our benefit is a welcome change. We are definitely a happier lot,” said T.U. Jacob, a senior citizen living in Dwarka.
The former banker and his group of friends have welcomed the benefits announced by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Budget 2015.
In India, nearly 10.5 crore people are above the age of 60 years. Of this, about one crore are above 80 years old.
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“The most welcome announcement has been government’s decision to set-up a welfare fund for senior citizens, which will derive funds from a corpus set up from the funds of the Employees’ Provident Fund and Public Provident Fund. Also encouraging and well-thought is the proposal under which the differently-abled senior citizens will get assistance for physical aid and assistance devices,” added Shalimar Bagh resident and retired government school principal Manoj Punjabi.
“The benefits for the elderly are in terms of an increase in deduction of health insurance premium and medical treatment,” Mr. Punjabi added.
While tax deduction under Section 80D has been raised for individuals below 60 years from Rs.15,000 to Rs.25,000, the same for senior citizens has been hiked to Rs.30,000.
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Also under Sections 80DDB, which allows a deduction of Rs.60,000 for treatment of specific diseases like cancer, AIDS, etc., the amount for senior citizens has now gone up to Rs.80,000.
“These initiative will go a long way to improve the quality of life of senior citizen, especially those from the salaried class. Health insurance and a cut in taxes are welcome changes that will ensure there is more money in the hands of senior citizens,” noted S. Vijayan from Mayur Vihar, who worked as a accounts manager with a private company before retirement.
Sixty-three-year-old businessman Ravi Maini too welcomed the move to increase tax exemptions for healthcare of senior citizens.
“People are forced to pay from their own pockets for healthcare, so the increase in exemption to Rs.30,000 is a good step. I wish there were more discounts for senior citizens on things like stents and cancer treatment,” added Mr. Maini.