State Action Plan for Senior Citizens (SAPSrC)

What is the State Action Plan for Senior Citizens?

State Action Plan for Senior Citizens (SAPSrC) is a component of Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana, the umbrella senior citizens scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Under SAPSrC the Union ministry releases funds to States and Union Territories so that each of them can frame and implement its own plan for the welfare of older people.

The design principle is decentralisation. According to the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, each State and UT is expected to plan and strategise taking local considerations into account, framing a long-term strategy for five years as well as annual action plans. The centre funds the plan; the state decides what goes into it.

SAPSrC also gives financial effect to a statutory duty. Section 20 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 requires state governments to make provision for the healthcare of senior citizens, and SAPSrC is one of the routes through which the centre supports that obligation.

Main features

• 100% central funding of the approved project cost; no state matching share is required.
• Funds released to State and UT governments, never to individuals.
• Both a five-year strategy and annual action plans are expected.
• States are encouraged to add their own resources on top of the central release.

What activities does SAPSrC fund?

The department identifies three broad heads under which grant-in-aid is released to States and UTs.

1. Trained geriatric caregivers; creating a pool of caregivers trained in looking after older people, which is the main workforce constraint in elderly care across most states.

2. Cataract surgery drives, special campaigns of cataract surgeries for senior citizens, one of the highest-volume and most immediately restorative interventions in geriatric health.

3. State-specific activities; welfare activities designed by the State or UT itself, aimed particularly at indigent senior citizens, and reflecting what that state's own assessment says its older population needs.

Because the third head is open, what SAPSrC actually delivers varies substantially from state to state. There is no single national list of SAPSrC benefits, and no state's programme should be assumed to run in another.

Who is eligible for SAPSrC?

Who can apply for funds:

• State governments and Union Territory administrations, through their social welfare or social justice departments. They are the only applicants.

Who benefits:

• Senior citizens aged 60 and above in the state concerned, particularly indigent seniors, through whatever activity the state's approved plan provides. A caregiver placement, a cataract surgery camp or a state-designed activity.

Who cannot apply:

• Individual senior citizens cannot apply for SAPSrC. There is no beneficiary application form, no registration number, no bank seeding and no Direct Benefit Transfer. Searches for a "SAPSrC application form" or "SAPSrC pension amount" find nothing because neither exists.
• NGOs and voluntary organisations cannot apply directly to the ministry under SAPSrC. An NGO seeking central grant-in-aid for an old age home applies under the Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens instead, though a state may engage NGOs as partners in delivering its own plan.
• Private companies are not eligible under this component. The elder-care enterprise route is SAGE.

What documents are required for SAPSrC?

How to apply for SAPSrC funds

Only a State or Union Territory government applies. The sequence is:

1. The state's social welfare or social justice department assesses the needs of its senior citizens and frames a five-year State Action Plan.
2. The department prepares the Annual Action Plan for the financial year, costing each activity — geriatric caregiver training, cataract surgery drives and state-specific activities.
3. The plan is submitted to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for appraisal and approval.
4. On approval, the ministry releases funds to the state, meeting 100% of the approved project cost.
5. The state implements the plan through its own institutions, Panchayati Raj institutions, urban local bodies and partner organisations.
6. The state files utilisation certificates and progress reports, which condition the next release.

How can a senior citizen benefit from SAPSrC?

1. Find your state nodal officer for senior citizen welfare, listed on the Senior Citizens Welfare Portal at scw.dosje.gov.in.
2. Ask what activities the state runs under its action plan this year, caregiver support, cataract surgery camps or state-specific schemes.
3. Approach the district social welfare office with age proof to attend the relevant camp or activity.

Help and grievance redressal

• Elderline national helpline: 14567, 8 AM to 8 PM, for senior citizens who cannot find out what their state provides.
• Senior Citizens Welfare Portal: scw.dosje.gov.in: state nodal officer contacts and fund release data by state and year.
• State Department of Social Welfare / Social Justice, the correct address for any question about what a particular state's action plan contains.

No fee is payable by a senior citizen for any activity funded under SAPSrC.