Union Minister Virendra Kumar launches JEEVAN app for senior citizens' care
New Delhi, May 22
Aiming to enhance safety, care, dignity and empowerment of senior citizens, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar on Friday launched "JEEVAN" mobile application, an official said.
The Minister also unveiled "SHATAYU" (Senior Holistic Care Assistance and Training For Your Utility) geriatric caregiver dashboard for enabling the elder Care Ecosystem through Technology Caregiving Support, the official said in a statement.
Virendra Kumar said the app and the dashboard are aimed at strengthening support systems for senior citizens across the country.
The JEEVAN mobile application is a dedicated digital platform designed to enhance the safety, welfare, healthcare access and social inclusion of senior citizens in India, said the statement.
The app provides a range of features aimed at addressing the needs and concerns of senior citizens, including information on Government schemes and welfare programmes, emergency assistance and support services, and details of senior citizen homes supported by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The platform has been designed with a user-friendly interface, simplified navigation and accessibility features, keeping in view the requirements of elderly users, said the statement.
Application SHATAYU, developed to support and strengthen caregiving services for senior citizens across the country, was also launched during the National Workshop on "Creating a Well-Functioning Care Economy."
It provides features such as information on the availability of Geriatric Caregivers in a particular district and the State for the senior citizens, said the statement.
The platform has been designed with simplified functionalities and a user-friendly interface to ensure ease of access and effective service delivery.
The Ministry organised a virtual programme on "Creating a Well-Functioning Care Economy" featuring presentations on best practices in the care economy from various states.
Four key thematic areas were identified for in-depth discussions. Participants from Central Ministries/Departments, State/UTs, experts in the field and academia attended the workshop, where deliberations were held on key policy issues, implementation gaps, emerging initiatives, best practices, and actionable recommendations.
Social Justice and Empowerment Secretary Sudhansh Pant also addressed the participants.
Care Economy includes activities related to childcare, eldercare, disability support, health-related home care and domestic services. It includes unpaid care work predominantly performed by women within households and paid care work delivered through formal and informal markets.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Great to see India focusing on senior care tech. As someone working in elder care in the US, I know how crucial these platforms are. The SHATAYU dashboard linking caregivers to districts is brilliant. Only hope they roll out training for the elderly to use it effectively.
Good initiative but why is this only now happening in 2023? We've been hearing about digital India for years. Many senior citizens in villages still don't have smartphones. Need to also ensure offline helplines and village-level support. Chalo, at least it's a start 🙏
The concept of 'Care Economy' is so important, especially for women who do unpaid care work at home. My mother looks after my grandparents and there's no recognition for that. Hope this platform also creates jobs for trained caregivers. Well done, Ministry! 👏
Impressive to see India invest in geriatric care infrastructure. The geriatric caregiver dashboard sounds like something we could learn from for our own systems in Australia. How will they verify the credentials of listed caregivers? That's the real challenge.
My grandfather lives alone in a small town. The emergency assistance feature gives me peace of mind. But I worry about data privacy - elderly people often get scammed digitally. Hope they've made it secure. Also good that the workshop included states for ground-level inputs. 🌸
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