After 15 years of lobbying by HelpAge, the National Policy on Older Persons was announced by the Indian government in 1998. The draft for the policy was provided by HelpAge after a series of discussions and seminars across the country, involving various age-care experts.

Subsequently, the last year of the 20th century was dedicated by the Indian government to the elderly – 1999 was declared National Year of Older Persons, with a view to focus on their needs.

An Action Plan for implementation of the Policy was also drafted and submitted to the government by HelpAge. Over the years, we have been playing a “watchdog”  role in proper implementation of the Policy.