90% of the elderly in India need to work till the time they die.

These elderly are from all sections protected by the Constitution - from Scheduled Castes, Tribes, Minorities, Women.

Only vestiges remain of the traditional care system that the Indian Society is known for, so much so that a Law had to be enacted "Maintenance of Parent and Welfare of Senior Citizens Act" to ensure that Children actually take care by paying maintenance - a law without teeth. 

The Federal and the State Governments have thus far have failed to play their part on the "welfare" part of the Act.  The District Level Old Age Homes are yet to come up, decent and timely social pensions still a Utopian dream, so much so that the Hon'ble Union Minister for Rural Development has himself allegedly called the paltry irregular pensions a shame.

The pronouncement of Right to Life as a Right to Life with dignity and therefore as a Right to Livelihood has been narrowly interpreted by the powers to be and the sails taken out of the  Directive Principles of State Policy. 

Article 253 mandating the Parlaiment to make appropriate laws in line with International Covenants has been conveniently forgotten in the case of Senior Citizens, with as many as six international Plans of Action on Aging existing, especially the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging, 2002 or the Shanghai Declaration.  Incidentally the same Article has been used to protect the rights of the differently-abled, therefore violating the principle of Equality before Law.    The Ministry does celebrate the International Day of Older Persons on the 1st October, year on year, which comes from a similar UN Declaration.

Now the Government of India has huge programmes aimed at Livelihoods and wellbeing in the form of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the National Rural Health Mission, the National Rural Livelihoods Mission and the recently announced National Urban Livelihoods Mission.  All these programmes  conveniently seem to brush aside the Elderly. 

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) Government of India, does quote that the average life expectancy at Age 60 is 17 years and not more than 8% of elderly above the age of 79 are bed-ridden.

Therefore the Senior Citizens of this country, whom we rever as the "Elderly" or "Buzurg" do not get decent social security nor can they gain benefit of the programmes of "largesse".  They are condemned for a minimum of a decade or more to a life of penury. 

Therefore a need for issuing directions to the planners and administrators and helping the nearly 10 Crore Elderly - 9.30 Crores of them arriving from Unorganised Sector.