National Award for Senior Citizens (Vayoshreshtha Samman): Best State in Implementing the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007

What is the Vayoshreshtha Samman "Best State" award?

The Vayoshreshtha Samman is a group of national awards instituted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to recognise the service and welfare of senior citizens. The awards were first instituted in 2005 and were elevated to the status of National Awards in 2013. According to the Ministry, they are conferred each year on 1 October, the International Day of Older Persons, at a national ceremony.

Within this framework sits the category "Best State in implementing the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, and providing services and facilities to senior citizens". Under this category, a State or Union Territory, not an individual or an NGO, is honoured for its governance record on the elderly: how effectively it has enforced the 2007 Act and how well it has built services and facilities for older persons.

What the 2007 Act requires of States

• Setting up maintenance tribunals so senior citizens can claim maintenance from children or relatives.
• Establishing and running old-age homes.
• Providing medical, service and protection facilities for senior citizens.

The Best State award effectively measures a government against these obligations.

Who is eligible for the "Best State" award?

Eligible for this category:

• State governments and Union Territory administrations, assessed on their implementation of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 and on services and facilities created for senior citizens.

Not eligible / cannot apply:

• Individuals cannot apply. This category recognises a government's performance, so no citizen, senior citizen or family member can nominate themselves or apply for it.
• NGOs, old-age homes and institutions cannot apply here. They are recognised under separate Vayoshreshtha Samman institutional categories, not under the Best State category.
• Across the Vayoshreshtha Samman, past recipients of Padma Awards, earlier Vayoshreshtha Samman or other national awards in the same category are generally not eligible to be honoured again.

If you are an individual who works for senior-citizen welfare, the relevant route is one of the individual Vayoshreshtha Samman categories, publicised separately by the Ministry — not this State-performance award.

What is submitted for the "Best State" award?

How to apply for the Vayoshreshtha Samman "Best State" award

This is not a citizen scheme; it runs through State governments. The steps below describe the real institutional route.

1. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment issues a call for nominations ahead of the 1 October ceremony.
2. Each State/UT government compiles a nomination dossier documenting its implementation of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 and the services and facilities it provides to senior citizens.
3. The State/UT submits the nomination to the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment through the official channel and format specified in the call.
4. The Ministry evaluates the nominations and selects the best-performing State/UT for the year.
5. The award, a citation and memento: is conferred on 1 October at the national Vayoshreshtha Samman function.

An individual who wants their State to be considered can only raise the issue with their State's Department of Social Justice / social welfare; the individual cannot file a nomination.

What does the award carry?

For the Best State category, the recognition is a Vayoshreshtha Samman citation and memento, presented at the national ceremony. The honour is reputational and governance-focused rather than monetary. Several institutional categories within the Vayoshreshtha Samman do carry cash awards (reported in lakhs of rupees), but the State category recognises a government's performance and is marked by the citation and memento.

Help and contact

• The awards are administered by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• A dedicated award helpline is not published; queries go to the Department through the official site socialjustice.gov.in, where the annual nomination advertisement and guidelines are released.

Because the Best State category is a government-performance award with no individual application, this guide is best read as background on how India recognises State performance on senior-citizen welfare, rather than as a scheme a reader can apply to.