SAGE initiative and portal launched for elderly persons
- Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment virtually launched the SAGE (Senior Care Aging Growth Engine) initiative and the SAGE portal for elderly persons.
- The start-ups selected will be those which will provide new innovative products and services to elderly persons in various sectors like health, travel, finance, legal, housing, food.
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The SAGE portal will be a “one-stop access” of elderly care products and services by credible start-ups.
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The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment will act as a facilitator for this scheme.
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A fund of up to Rs1 crore as one-time equity will be granted to each selected start-up.
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An allocation of Rs 25 crores has been made for the SAGE project in the current financial year i.e 2021-22.
- India’s elderly population is on the rise, and as per surveys, the share of elders, as a percentage of the total population in the country, is expected to increase from around 7.5% in 2001 to almost 12.5% by 2026, and surpass 19.5% by 2050.
- Accordingly, there is an urgent need to create a more robust eldercare ecosystem in India
- Earlier a Senior Citizen Welfare Fund was started in 2016.