Time is opportune to plan housing for elderly: PHD Chamber

The time is most opportune to plan housing for elderly as the share of elderly population in India’s total population has increased from 5.6% in 1961 to 8.6% in 2011 and is estimated to reach to 10.7% in 2021, 12.4% in 2026 and 23.6% in 2050.

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry has organised a Report Release and Seminar on Senior Housing: A Sunrise Sector in India today 25th September 2017 at PHD House, New Delhi

The eminent speakers of the session were Dr. Ajay Dua, IAS (Rtd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, Smt Suneeta Trivedi, Rtd. Member of the Postal Services Board , Shri M H Dalal, Founder and Chairman, Association of Senior Living India (ASLI) and Shri Ankur Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Ashiana Housing Limited.

While presenting the welcome remarks, Shri Rajeev Talwar, CEO & Whole –Time Director, DLF Ltd., Chairman, NAREDCO and Vice President, PHD Chamber stated that we have got a very good mix in India, a part of which is the demographic dividend and a part of the demography ageing group. It is necessary to recognize that senior citizens are a valuable resource for the country and create an environment that provides them with equal opportunities, protects their rights and enable their full participation in society. Going ahead, senior housing would appropriately meet the needs of elderly population and will promote their welfare and livelihood aspects.

Dr. Ajay Dua, IAS (Rtd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India shared his expectations from Senior Housing sector in India. He stated that we are getting a new perspective into a sector, which is bound to be growing. Getting new policies formulated for the sector will provide good options for developers. He emphasized on the point of affordability and stressed the role of Government in promoting the senior housing sector to meet efficiently the demands of elderly population in the country.

Shri M H Dalal, Founder and Chairman, Association of Senior Living India (ASLI) gave a brief presentation on global and domestic overview of the Senior Housing Sector. In his presentation he stated that today India has 120 million seniors which is almost equal to entire population of some countries. He added that the demographic shift and changing in caring for the elderly points to a huge potential market in India.

Shri Ankur Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Ashiana Housing Limited shared his experience as a developer and opined that there is a need to better understand the senior living in India and it should be taken seriously in the times to come. He also emphasized that the Government of India should lay more emphasis on senior housing in terms of land availability throughout the country and make senior housing attractive for developers by giving some kind of benefits on GST or RERA.

Remarks on the Importance of Senior Housing sector in India were given by Smt Suneeta Trivedi Rtd. Member of the Postal Services Board. While appreciating the report, she stated that the survey report is quite an eye opener. She added that we have been talking about the social stigma attached to senior living and to which she do not agree that it is a social stigma. In overall, she stated that senior housing is an important subject and should be given utmost importance by the developers and government in the coming times.

Highlights of the survey based report on Senior Housing: A sunrise sector in India prepared by PHD Research Bureau on were presented by Dr. S P Sharma, Chief Economist, PHD Chamber. In his presentation he gave a brief overview on the Indian economy growth story, overview on India’s elderly population and shared the findings of survey on Senior Housing sector in India undertaken by PHD Research Bureau. Dr Sharma highlighted the finding of senior housing survey analysis and briefed the audience that as per the findings of the survey, the size of the senior housing sector is estimated to reach from US$ 1.26 billion in 2016 upto US$ 7.7 billion by 2030 on account of conducive framework in our country.