India's ageing population presents unique welfare challenges. Critically examine the adequacy of schemes like AVYAY in addressing them.

India's elderly (60+) share is projected to rise from about 10% in 2021 to nearly 21% by 2050, with the 80+ group growing fastest [1]. Against this demographic shift, the Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana (AVYAY) of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment offers a meaningful but partial institutional response.

Distinctive welfare challenges of ageing

• Shelter and isolation: nuclearisation of families leaves indigent elderly without care or human interaction [2].
• Health and disability: age-related infirmities — low vision, hearing loss, loco-motor disability — demand geriatric, not general, care [3].
• Care-workforce deficit: trained geriatric caregivers remain scarce, pushing burden onto families [4].

Where AVYAY is adequate

• Comprehensive umbrella design: it consolidates shelter, food, healthcare and dignity concerns into three components — IPSrC, SAPSrC and Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana [2].
• Institutional care at scale: under IPSrC, grants-in-aid fund NGOs running Senior Citizens' Homes and continuous care homes, with shelter, nutrition and medicare free for indigent elderly; 639 projects currently receive support [3].
• Federal delivery: SAPSrC funds States/UTs to train geriatric caregivers, run special cataract-surgery drives and state-specific activities [4].
• Assistive devices: RVY restores near-normal functioning through assisted-living devices [3].

Where it falls short

• Coverage gap: a few hundred funded projects and homes are marginal against a 60+ population already exceeding 140 million [1].
• Dependence on NGO capacity makes reach uneven, favouring states with a strong voluntary sector [2].
• Welfare, not security: AVYAY addresses shelter and aids, not income security, elder abuse enforcement or old-age mental health.
• Curative bias: interventions like cataract drives treat symptoms rather than building permanent geriatric infrastructure [4].

AVYAY is thus a sound architecture operating at inadequate scale. Convergence with health and pension programmes, higher outlays, and a trained geriatric care workforce can transform it from targeted relief into a universal system of active and dignified ageing, honouring the directive principle of public assistance in old age.