 bill no 62 of  2016 the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens (amendment) bill, 2016 by dr boora narsaiah goud, mp a billto amend the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act, 2007be it enacted by parliament in the sixty-seventh year of the republic of india as follows:—2 after chapter ii of the maintenance and welfare of senior citizens act, 2007, the following chapter and sections thereunder shall be inserted, namely:—insertion of new chapter iia "chapter  iia the  national  commission  for  senior  citizens518 a (1) the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, establish a national commission for senior citizens, hereinafter referred to as the commission, for carrying out the purposes of this actestablishment of nationalcommission for seniorcitizens(2) the commission shall consist of a chairperson, vice-chairperson and three other members to be appointed by the central government in such manner as may be prescribed10(3) the commission shall have the power to regulate its own procedure 18b (1) the commission shall—function of the commission15(a) investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided forthe senior citizens under this act or the constitution or under any other law for the time being in force or under any order of the central government;(b) evaluate the working of safeguards provided under this act; (c) inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of the senior citizens;20(d) participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of the senior citizens and evaluate the progress of their development under the central government and state governments;(e) present to the central government annually and at such other times as the commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of safeguards provided under this act;25(f) make recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the central government or the state governments for effective implementation of those safeguards and other measures for the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the senior citizens; and(g) discharge such other functions in relation to the protection, welfare and development and advancement of the senior citizens as may be prescribed30(2) the central government shall cause all such reports, as are presented to it under clause (e) of sub-section (1), to be laid before each house of parliament along with a memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to the union and the reasons for the non-acceptance, if any, of any of such recommendations35 40(3) where any such report, or any part thereof, relates to any matter with which any state government is concerned, a copy of such report shall be forwarded to the state government concerned and the state government shall cause such report to be laid before the legislature of the state along with a memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to that state and the reasons for the nonacceptance, if any, of any of such recommendations| powers                                                                                 | of                                                                      ||----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|| commission                                                                            |                                                                         || 18c                                                                                   | the commission shall, while performing its functions under section 18b, || have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit and in particular in respect of the |                                                                         || following matters, namely:—                                                            |                                                                         || 45                                                                                     |                                                                         || (                                                                                      | a                                                                       || india and examining him on oath;                                                       |                                                                         |(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document; (c) receiving evidence on affidavits; (d) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office; (e) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents; and (f) any other matter which may be prescribed518d the central government and every state government shall consult the commission on all major policy matters affecting senior citizens"central and state governments to consult the commission statement of objects and reasonsthere has been a steady rise in the population of elder persons in india the number of elder persons has increased from 198 million in 1951 to 1038 millions in 2011 the projection indicates that the number of persons above sixty years of age in india will increase to 11610 millions in 2016, 14320 millions in 2021 and 1732 millions in 2026 further, as per the united nations projections on old age population in india, the overall population in india by the year 2050 will grow by 55% but more alarmingly, the population of people of the age of sixty years and above will increase by 326% and those in the age group of eighty and above by 700% which is the fastest growing group continuous increase in life expectancy means that more people are now living longer ensuring that they not merely live longer, but lead a secure, dignified and productive life, which is a major challengethe traditional norms and values of the indian society laid stress on showing respect and providing care for the aged however, in recent times, society is witnessing a gradual but definite withering of the joint family system, as a result of which a large number of parents are being neglected by their families thereby exposing them to lack of emotional, physical and financial support these older persons are facing a lot of problems in the absence of adequate social securitythe situation of older persons was highlighted for the first time at the world assembly on ageing in 1982 in vienna wherein international plan of action on ageing was adopted it served as an international blue print for development of policies and programmes on ageing later, the united nations principles for older persons were adopted by general assembly resolution 46-91 on 16th december, 1991 the following are the five principles which the central and state governments are encouraged to incorporate into national programmes wherever possible:—(i) independence: older persons should have access to food, water, shelter, clothing, health care, work and other income-generating opportunities, education, training and a life in safe environment(ii) participation: older persons should remain integrated into community life and participate actively in the formulation of policies affecting their well-being(iii) care: older persons should have access to social and legal services and to health care so that they can maintain an optimum level of physical, mental and emotional wellbeing this should include full respect, dignity, beliefs, needs and privacy(iv) self-fulfillment: older persons should have access to educational, cultural, spiritual and recreational resources and be able to develop their full potential(v) dignity: older persons should be able to live in dignity and security, be free of exploitation, physical or mental, and be treated fairly regardless of age, gender and racial or ethnic backgroundthe national policy on older persons was announced by the government of india in january, 1999 though the policy had several features like state support to ensure financial and food security, health care, shelter and other needs of older persons to improve the quality of their lives, the implementation has been rather tardy and there is no coordination mechanism to effectively implement the policythe second world assembly on ageing was held in madrid in 2002 where madrid international plan of action on ageing (mipaa), 2002 was adopted and endorsed by the general assembly the plan has inspired the development of national and regional plans and provided an international framework for dialogue on ageing the government set up a committee under the chairmanship of dr (smt) v mohini giri to draft a new national policy on senior citizens, which submitted its report on 30th march, 2011, but the policy is yet to be finalized and implementedwith a view to ensure the well-being of senior citizens, by strengthening their legitimate place in society and extending support for financial and food security, healthcare, shelter, equitable share in development, protection against abuse and exploitation and fulfillment of other needs, there is a necessity for setting up a national commission for the senior citizensthe bill, therefore, seeks to amend the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act, 2007 with a view to establish a national commission for senior citizens for the protection and welfare of senior citizenshence this billnew delhi;boora narsaiah goudfebruary 8, 2016 financial memorandumclause 2 of the bill seeks to provide for constitution of the national commission for senior citizens the bill, therefore, if enacted would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india at this stage, it is not possible to give the exact amount to be incurred however, it is estimated that a recurring expenditure of about rupees one hundred crore will be involved per annum from the consolidated fund of indiaa non-recurring expenditure of rupees  fifty crore is also likely to be involved memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 2 of the bill empowers the central government to appoint the chairperson, vice-chairperson and three members of the national commission for senior citizens in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made under this act as the rules will relate to matters of detail only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character———— a billto amend the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens act, 2007————(dr boora narsaiah goud, mp)gmgipmrnd—4409ls(s3)—03-03-2016