Poor awareness of elderly rights in TS

Only 5.1% clued-up on Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act

January 23, 2021 11:50 pm | Updated 11:50 pm IST - HYDERABAD

Legal measures to bring relief to the elderly seem to have been marred by a lack of awareness of the laws. In Telangana, just 5.1% of people aged 60 and above are aware of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, revealed Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI)-Wave 1 report brought out by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS).

The legislation details the circumstances in which property transfer can be void to protect the interests of senior citizens, medical support offered by State governments, monthly allowances from children, etc.

The study is an investigation into health, economic, and social well-being of India’s growing elderly population. Along with nation-wide data, fact-sheets for States and Union Territories was also released.

LASI is a partnership between IIPS, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and University of Southern California.

The report also contains details of percentage of elderly having health insurance, living alone or with spouses, children or others, those satisfied with their life, awareness about government pension schemes, and other crucial aspects.

In Telangana, 2,475 individuals were interviewed. The field work was conducted from July to November 2018.

According to the Telangana fact-sheet, 2.1% of the elderly have experienced ill-treatment one year prior to the study and 10.5% of them live alone.

An assumption attached to taking care of aged parents is that they could be a financial burden. However, the study indicated that 2.4% of senior citizens provided financial support.

Around 39% have health insurance coverage and 8% were admitted as in-patients in 12 months prior to the survey, with the mean hospital expenses coming to ₹27,319.

Principal investigator of the study, IIPS professor T.V. Sekher said since data for each State and Union Territory is available, it can be used to fine-tune programmes. “Suppose, awareness about old age pension is low, you can do something there,” he said.

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