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Justice Siddiqui, Chairman of the Commission for Minorities addresses delegates and older people in the auditorium.
What happened in 2008?
HelpAge India facilitated a fantastic programme of activites this year to involve thousands of older people in the Age Demands Action campaign.
850 older people, representing older people's associations with over 8,000 members, boarded the officially named "HelpAge Special" train from Cuddalore, and made the long journey accross the country to New Delhi.
Once there, they marched to parliament with the team of Age Demands Action delegates, to deliver a memorandum on older people's rights to parliamentarians.
Highlights from 2007
HelpAge India hosted a week-long programme of events starting on 1 October to mark the many contributions of older people throughout the country.
National Level
A meeting was held with the Minister for Finance, Mr P Chidambaram. He was presented with a petition calling for an extension of social security to all vulnerable older people, signed by thousands of older people accross India. In addition, over 3,000 older men and women joined a walkathon to India Gate.
Outcomes
- The Minister agreed to make the old-age pension available to all poor people in the country from 19 November 2007.
- The Minister talked about pilot schemes to ensure that pensions are received at regular intervals. This would avoid hardship due to late or missed payments. He said he hoped to roll out an electronic system whereby all pensioners would receive their pension into a post office account on the first day of each month.
State-level
Small delegations of older people met with government officials in 20 cities to raise the pressing issues in their regions.
Outcomes
- The Delhi Government and Government of the State of Andhra Pradesh agreed to introduce privilege/identity cards for older citizens. These cards, bearing a photograph and personal details, would make the holder eligible for medical and travel facilities as well as other benefits.
- In Delhi, monthly pension payments were increased from Rs600 (US$13) to Rs1,001 (US$21).
