INDIA: Senior citizens seek share of economic meltdown bailout package

. MUMBAI, Maharashtra, INDIA / Dignity Foundation / December 11, 2008 “Finance Minister P.C. Chidambaram can be called the worst finance minister ever during India's biggest economic boom," asserted journalist Sucheta Dalal here yesterday. Dalal spoke as chair of the round table on: "Impact of the Global Economic Meltdown on Senior Citizens," held here contended Seniors had a right to a share of the Government's bailout package for business. "If Government can handover funds to business interests it ought to do the same for seniors too." The round table also called for an elder-friendly medical insurance scheme and pleaded for uniformity of age at which a person is declared a senior citizen. Organised by Dignity Foundation, an NGO for senior citizens, the round table sought ideas that could bring about changes in government policies and industry attitude towards NGOs. Discussions ranged from investments, medical problems, pension and even vegetable prices. M.K. Ruperalia, retired Joint Director, Indian Railway Personnel Service, noted that "the state government and central government together give senior citizens a paltry Rs 400 as pension. How can a person to survive on that? Isn't it a mockery?" Even vegetable and medical prices were discussed. "A senior citizen has to cope and pay for a great deal of medicines. Insurance companies do not offer any special schemes for senior citizens. We can claim medical insurance only if we are hospitalised for 48 hours. Eventually, when medicines get too expensive, the senior citizen invariably gives up the most expensive medicine and his health begins to deteriorate," added Dileep Wagle, a person who has been in the pharmaceutical industry for over 40 years. Investment and banking experts decried the attitude of government towards mutual funds and their bias towards fixed deposits. Unfair taxes were dissected too. "We Seniors have been the biggest tax payers. In our days, we did not get any tax breaks that the younger generation is currently getting. We do not reap any benefits. We need to find a solution," stressed Dignity Foundation member V.P.Kamath. The brand ambassador for Dignity Foundation, Tanuja was vociferous. "Let's focus on key points that can bring about a change in the government. Let's not be vague but specific. We need some action." On action government can take, most present were not convinced that government would be of any assistance. As R. Sridhar, Trustee, Dignity Foundation, put it, "Most of our politicians are senior citizens themselves. Yet they do not seem to have a clue on what senior citizens need." Founder President, Dignity Foundation and Dignity Lifestyle Retirement Township, Sheilu Sreenivasan summed up: "We shall now lobby for three hot issues: a share of government's bailout package, elder friendly medical insurance scheme and uniformity in the age when a citizen is considered Senior." A background note from Dignity Foundation adds: AARP is the American leader in global vision building for Ageing. Dignity Foundation has been invited to join the AARP Global Network as Associate Member, along with three other countries -- Italy, Canada and Denmark. AARP VP - Business Planning and Strategy, Tulip Shah, is currently visiting Dignity for consultations. The round table was held during this visit. AARP Global Network has extended its readiness to Dignity Foundation to help it with thought leadership, advisory services, strategic resources and proven solutions through its network of like-minded organizations. Through this exclusive network, Dignity Foundation hopes to gain the power to meet common challenges, tap into collective expertise, leverage reciprocity benefits to bring value to their own members and develop collaborative, sustainable solutions to meeting the challenges of today and tomorrow. Report by Seniors World Chronicle based on material provided by Dignity Foundation.