According to the Oxford Dictionary a “destitute is one who is without food & shelter and completely impoverished’.

Destitute Elders can also be defined as those elderly who have no economic and social support systems in the form of immediate or extended family to support them.

As per 2001 census there were 81 million older people, 90% of the total elderly population belong to the unorganized sector which means no pension no provident fund. One third of them are below the poverty line and 75% of them reside in rural areas.

The National Policy of the Older Persons was announced by the Government of India in 1999 to reaffirm its commitment to ensure the well being of the older persons in a holistic manner. The priority areas identified by the Government for intervention are:

Financial Security through coverage under Old Age Pension Scheme for poor and destitute older person’s better returns on earnings/savings of government /quasi Government employee’s savings in Provident fund, creating opportunities for continued education/skill up-gradation.

Recognizing Shelter as basics human need, the NPOP provides for earmarking 10 percent of the house/housing sites in urban as well as real areas for older persons belonging to the lower income groups, special consideration to the older persons falling in the category of Below Poverty Line (BPL) and destitute in schemes like Indira Awas Yojana, loans at reasonable interest rates and easy repayment installments with tax relief for purchase of houses etc.

Welfare and Institutional Care : Institutional Care has been provided for in the NPOP as the last resort. The care in non-institutional set up i.e. within family and the community needs to be strengthened and encouraged. This apart, the State should also create infrastructure in partnership with voluntary organizations to provide for poor, destitute and neglected older persons whose care cannot be ensured within the family. This is to ensured within the family. This is to be ensured through Old Age Homes and other such institutional facilities that would be needed. For this purpose NPOP recognizes the need for setting up Welfare Fund for older persons with funding support from the Government, corporate sector, trust, charities, individual donors, etc.

Training of Human Resource to care for Older Persons : The Policy lays emphasis on need for trained personnel/care givers. This envisages the training of human resource in the areas like specialization in Geriatrics in medical courses, special courses on Geriatric Care in nursing, training of social workers specially for geriatric care and professional caregivers.