Centre may mandate 10% of CSR funds for elderly

NEW DELHI: The Centre may make it mandatory that 10% of corporate social responsibility funds are spent on the welfare of elderly persons and effect a ten-fold hike in the old-age pension, in what is likely to be a new focus on senior citizens in view of their rapidly growing numbers and challenging living conditions.

According to the national policy on older persons to be unveiled soon, the Centre will amend the recently promulgated legislation on CSR to ensure that minimum 10% of the funds are spent on senior citizens.

In a major policy leap, the Centre may hike the old-age pension from the current Rs 200 to Rs 1,000 per month for persons up to 80 years while it would be increased from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 for those above 80 years.

The Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 pension would be the central share which would be doubled if states agree to provide a matching share. Calling the 80-plus as the “oldest old” , they would be provided additional pension in case of disability or loss of adult children which leads to the added responsibility of looking after grandchildren.

The social justice ministry is likely to soon seek a Cabinet nod for the policy. The focus on elderly is driven by estimates that they will soon form a chunk of the population, a growth that is pitching them as a key bloc needing care.

As per reports, the 60-plus group has seen a rise from 5.7 crore in 1991 to 7.7 crore in 2001 and 10.4 crore in 2011 – the increase in both decades being around 35%.