Keralam drafts bill to improve geriatric care

A draft legislation is in the works that proposes fixing of quality standards and responsibilities of assisted living facilities, home care agencies and government homes housing for the elderly in Keralam and building a framework for geriatric care, the chief minister’s office said on Tuesday.

Chief minister VD Satheesan, chairing a meeting to review the draft Keralam State Elderly Persons (Care and Protection) Bill, 2026, in Thiruvananthapuram, directed officials to expedite the procedures associated with drafting the legislation.

According to the CMO, the bill’s stated aim is to establish a comprehensive elderly-friendly system, taking into account the state’s changing demographic structure.

“One of the main objectives is developing the caregiving sector into a professional system. For this, a framework for geriatric care certification will be formed. Caregivers would be given training and certification. Their backgrounds would be checked and a state-wide registry will be developed. This will help create jobs for skilled caregivers,” the office said, adding that the government was committed to building a “silver economy” —services catering to senior citizens— in the state that would tie the rising needs of elderly people with the new economic and employment opportunities.

State and district-level mechanisms would be put in place for the effective implementation of the bill’s goals, it said.

Figures from the Registrar General of India have stated that the population of those aged 60 and above in Keralam is expected to rise to one-fourth of the state’s population in less than a decade. Their figure in the state in 2026 is 18.7%, compared to the national average of 11.4%.