- Published
Arindam Bhattacharyya, an advertising executive based in Jakarta, had an unexpected wake-up call in 2024.
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Bhattacharyya → publish → 2024
His parents, based in India's Kolkata city, were visiting him when his father had a health crisis.
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father → base → crisis
Bhattacharyya managed to get him medical care but when it was time for them to go back, he faced a question familiar to many Indians - how do you care for your parents when you can't be there in person?
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you → manage → person
Between 2020 and 2050, the number of people aged 60 and above globally is projected to double to 2.1 billion, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
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number → age → Fund
India is expected to mirror this - by 2050, one in every five Indians will be above the age of 60, close to 21% of the total population.
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one → expect → population
Until a few decades ago, there was little discussion in India on caring for elderly people as the expectation was that families would step in, the UNFPA notes, external.
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UNFPA → be → people
This, however, has been complicated by factors including the shrinking of joint families.
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This → complicate → families
As younger people move away from their families, and with limited social infrastructure to support the elderly, a gap is only widening, experts say.
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experts → move → elderly
Some frame this as an opportunity.
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Some → frame → opportunity
Government think-tank NITI Aayog says the senior care industry in India is valued at around $7bn (£5.56bn) - it is expected to grow rapidly and offer huge opportunities for healthcare companies.
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it → say → companies
Many start-ups are already moving in.
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ups → move → ?
These companies are looking to address several areas including senior living, home care and technology-enabled services.
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companies → look → living
While their goal is to help older adults live and age more independently, their customers are often the children of the people they help.
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they → help → people
Bhattacharyya says he now relies on two start-ups to monitor his parents' health, coordinate care and arrange emergency medical support.
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he → say → support
"These services are a big help but I still monitor everything closely [from Jakarta]," he said.
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he → monitor → Jakarta
An area seeing an uptick is organised senior living, mainly due to higher incomes and changing family structures.
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area → see → structures
But some experts believe that demand is far ahead of supply.
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demand → believe → supply
Companies like Manasum Senior Living, Primus Senior Living, Ananta Living and Vedaanta Senior Living are building projects especially for senior housing and care, even as there is growing interest from traditional real estate developers.
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Companies → build → developers
Real estate management firm Colliers International Group estimates current senior living demand at around 2-2.2 million units in India while only around 25,000 units are available.
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units → estimate → India
Anantharam Varayur, a former tech executive, co-founded Manasum Senior Living after he saw many older people in India living restricted lives compared with their peers in the US.
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people → co → US
In 2015, when he first set up a promotional stall at an event by a large Indian community in the US, hoping to draw interest from younger Indians due to their familiarity with the concept, hardly anyone came to ask questions - he thinks this was due to the "stigma" associated with leaving older family members in an "old age home", as they are traditionally called in India.
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they → set → India
But things have changed - his company already has 900 operational units, mostly in Bengaluru and Goa, and plans to scale up to 10,000 units by 2030, including a luxury project.
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company → change → project
They get enquiries from senior citizens whose children live abroad, couples with adult children with special needs, older single people, and even younger people planning for the future.
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children → get → future
But there are also many older people who prefer staying in their family homes or apartments and need support.
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who → be → support
Earlier, attendants and nurses were seen as an addition to family caregivers.
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attendants → see → caregivers
Today, they are often taking on primary caregiving roles.
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they → take → roles
What was once a fragmented, hyperlocal market run by small agencies is now seeing the rise of firms that offer end-to-end home-care services and use technology to scale up.
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that → run → technology
Examples include Emoha Elder Care Services, Care24 and KITES Senior Care, among others.
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Examples → include → others
But given the sensitive and intimate nature of the caregiving industry, finding the right personnel and retaining them is a big challenge.
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finding → give → them
"Failure to adequately train the workforce will lead to an acute shortage of skilled people amid rising demand," warns a report by ratings firm CareEdge.
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report → train → CareEdge
The challenge goes beyond skills.
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challenge → go → skills
Caregivers also need thorough vetting and specialised training to support a demographic that is vulnerable to fraud, financial scams and other forms of exploitation.
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that → need → exploitation
NITI Aayog has recognised this issue and highlighted the need for a national caregiving policy to build a professional and inclusive caregiving ecosystem in India.
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Aayog → recognise → India
Entrepreneurs are also looking at ways to address the social and emotional needs of clients.
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Entrepreneurs → look → clients
In 2022, former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata's investment in start-up Goodfellows generated a lot of public interest.
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investment → generate → interest
The company's tagline explains what it does - "Everything Grandkids Do!"
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Grandkids → explain → what
Founder Shantanu Naidu says that they are not aiming to replace family, but to fill a void by offering spirited, empathetic youth companions for elderly clients for some quality time together or even to just help them with technology.
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they → say → technology
While Naidu's start-up is tapping human emotional intelligence, some entrepreneurs are using artificial intelligence to solve real-life challenges.
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entrepreneurs → tap → challenges
In Bengaluru, companies like Kubo Care and NoBlink.ai combine AI-powered monitoring services with wall-mounted radar devices at homes to monitor people's movements to alert emergency services if they faint or fall.
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they → combine → services
Prajith Nair, co-founder of NoBlink.ai, says that they aim to "build at scale so that it is available at economical and affordable cost".
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it → say → cost
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
