With Focus On Senior Citizens, Keralam Government To Build Silver Economy

The Kerala government is focusing on creating a silver economy where the elderly are well cared for. To boost social security and welfare programmes for the elderly, the Kerala Department of Senior Citizens has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 12 institutions across five categories: healthy ageing, community-based care, silver and care economies, research-driven policymaking, and social security and rights.

Chief Minister V D Satheesan, while speaking at the official signing ceremony, emphasised that protecting senior citizens should be part of social culture. He also underscored that government intervention alone cannot resolve the challenges elderly face and urged community agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to work together in this regard. He warned that strict legal action, including prosecution, will be initiated against those who abandon their aged parent or evict them.

To ensure that the programme is implemented successfully at the ground level, the government plans to execute elderly welfare programmes along with the local self-government bodies and NGOs. For this, it plans to create a detailed panchayat-level database and map senior citizens who have a medical condition or mental health issue and need care. According to a report by the Times of India, this database will allow the state to formulate customised welfare schemes that can directly benefit the vulnerable elderly individuals across local communities.

The state government has recently passed the Senior Citizens (Care and Protection of Rights) Bill, 2026, to ensure that seniors can live with dignity and without any discrimination, neglect, or abuse. The Bill focuses on providing them with social security, healthcare, and a dignified life.

In the government’s policy direction, capacity building and professional training are other key elements. Reportedly, the state is developing a one-year practical caregiver course structured just below the nursing terms of professional qualification. The curriculum for this programme draws upon elder-care frameworks from Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia, and adapts them to meet the state’s unique requirements.

Following the training, these caregivers will be deployed with support from government departments, local self-government institutions, non-government organisations, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) funding.

For the growing issue of emotional isolation and loneliness among seniors, the government plans to introduce a youth-centric intervention, under which Plus Two students will be engaged as volunteers to conduct regular home visits, check on elderly residents’ well-being, and help the elderly fight loneliness by feeling connected with the community.

The CM explained that the government’s view is not just providing care but expanding the silver economy, and under this framework, utilising the knowledge and professional expertise of retired senior citizens, engaging them as mentors for local industries and startups.

The 12 institutions with which the government has collaborated and signed MoUs belong to healthcare, academic, research, and legal sectors. They include the Institution of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Imhans), Dementia India Alliance, Public Health and Social Development Foundation, Health Action by People, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kerala Association of Professional Social Workers, Loyola College of Social Sciences, Swasti – The Health Catalyst, Centre of Management Development, Centre of Socio-Economic and Environmental Studies, Bharata Mata Extension for Organic Research and Environment, and the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS).