Mass poverty is the Indian reality which affects the elderly.

Elderly grievances attended by District Collector  Ms.Jayashree Muralidharn

Several elderly people give petitions to Trichy District Collector, Smt.Jayashree Muralidharan requesting for old age pension and several other issues related to old age economy and care. Trichy District Administration reaches the elderly to the maximum possible with their resources. The needs of the elderly are more complex and needs not only financial support but also social responsibility of elderly care. The traditional norms and values of Indian society laid stress on showing respect and providing care for the elderly. As a result, the older members of the family were normally taken care of in the family itself. The family, commonly the joint family type, and social networks provided an appropriate environment in which the elderly spent their lives. The advents of modernization, industrialization, urbanization, occupational differentiation, education, and growth of individual philosophy have eroded the traditional values that vested authority with elderly. Although family support and care of the elderly are unlikely to disappear in the near future, family care of the elderly seems likely to decrease as the nation develop economically -and modernize in other respects. Given the trend of population aging in the country, the older population faces a number of problems and adjusts to them in varying degrees. These problems range from absence of ensured and sufficient income to support themselves and their dependents to ill health, absence of social security, loss of social role and recognition and to the non-availability of opportunities for creative use of free time. Mass poverty is the Indian reality and the vast majority of the families have income far below the level, which would ensure a reasonable standard of living. The beneficiaries among the older persons for various schemes and programmes initiated by the government are very insignificant when compared to the very high size of their population and the growth rate among them. There is need to protect and strengthen the institution of the family and provide elderly support services as would enable the family to cope with its responsibilities of taking care of the elderly. Along with proper and effective professional welfare services that need to be evolved to provide counseling services both to the elderly and their family members, it is also important to provide financial support to low income family groups having one or more elderly persons. Based on the existing diversities in the ageing process, it may be stated that there is a need to pay greater attention to the increasing awareness on the ageing issues and its socio-economic effects and to promote the development of policies and programmes for dealing with an ageing society.-Govin