Reimagining Caregiving in India: NITI Aayog Report

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NITI Aayog recently launched a crucial report named Reimagining Care: Strategies for Empowering Caregivers in Viksit Bharat@2047.
This report highlights the urgent need to support people who take care of the elderly, sick, and disabled.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), caregivers are people who assist those unable to perform daily activities due to age, illness, or disability.
Formal Caregivers are trained professionals like home health aides and geriatric assistants who get paid for their services in homes or hospitals.
Informal Caregivers include family members, friends, or local volunteers who provide unpaid, long-term care to their loved ones.

India's elderly population of 149 million in 2022 will likely rise to 347 million by 2050, making up 20.8% of the population.
More than 26.8 million people with disabilities live in India, representing 2.21% of the total population under the RPwD Act, 2016.
The Time Use Survey reveals that Indian women spend 299 minutes daily on unpaid care, whereas men spend only 97 minutes.
The Indian care market was valued at USD 29.62 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 72.31 billion by 2030.

Family-Based Informal Caregivers are relatives who look after family members without any pay, forming the core of India's social structure.
Community-Based Informal Caregivers are local volunteers and Self-Help Groups, such as Kerala's Neighbourhood Network in Palliative Care or Kudumbashree's K4 Care.
Institutional Formal Caregivers are trained staff working full-time in old-age homes, rehab centers, and specialized hospital wards.
Home-Based and Specialized Palliative Caregivers are paid professionals who offer bedside support, dementia care, and chronic illness management directly at home.

Japan introduced mandatory Long-Term Care Insurance in 2000 and uses the Specified Skilled Worker Visa to bring in foreign caregivers.
Germany uses a dual-financing model under its Familienpflegezeitgesetz law, which allows up to 24 months of protected leave for family carers.
China created an eight-level national certification system, removed formal education barriers for rural workers, and set standards for eldercare robots.

India lacks a single apex body to coordinate caregiving efforts across various ministries like health, labor, and skill development.
Training courses for caregiving are not standardized, which means they lack international recognition in major destination countries.
Formal caregivers do not have proper social security under laws like the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, leading to low wages and exploitation.
Managing complex mental conditions like dementia causes severe emotional exhaustion and high turnover rates among caregivers.
Young people moving from villages to cities leaves the elderly without traditional family support networks.

India should set up a National Caregiver Council under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to regulate and standardize training.
The government must create a National Policy on Caregiving to recognize this field as an allied health profession with fair minimum wages.
All caregiving courses should align with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) and offer certification for informal family carers.
The Ministry of External Affairs should expand government-to-government agreements, like the India-Germany Triple Win, to help trained caregivers work abroad.
Employers should offer formal care leave, while communities should build respite centers and integrate care with Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.