Age-Tech Revolution: How Bengaluru’s Elderly Are Embracing Empowerment

Swift Summary:

• Raghavendra, a retired electrical engineer, overcame loneliness in bengaluru by joining whatsapp groups and Sukoon Unlimited, a start-up forming communities for seniors. The platform promotes emotional support,counselling,volunteering opportunities,and services run entirely by people over 50.
• Age-tech startups are on the rise in India addressing issues like physical health, emotional well-being, employability of seniors, cognitive skills enhancement, and combating social isolation.
• India has about 15 crore senior citizens (60+ years), expected to double to 32 crore by 2050. WHO reports that social isolation affects 1 in 4 older adults with health risks comparable to smoking or obesity.
• Wisdom Circle helps retired professionals find jobs; it has registered over 95K individuals and listed around 2.5K roles for part-time work suitable for experience-rich elders looking to remain relevant post-retirement rather than just earning money.
• Cognitive health startup Ivory offers assessments targeting neurodegenerative diseases like dementia affecting millions of Indians; it utilizes neuroscience-based strategies along with personalized brain-training apps for users aged above 45 years.
• Translead Medtech creates practical assistive devices like chairs aiding mobility without power/sensors-a vital need as orthopaedic disabilities escalate among the elderly population alongside increasing knee surgeries witnessed across five years according to data cited (~5 lakh replacements).
• Concerns persist about technology alienating elders due to usability struggles compounded by limited access/inclusion outside urban digital ecosystems amidst costs gaps cited regulatory skews still marked today hindering accessibility per Susan Barton caregiver expert remarks suggests government participation missing here stakeholders startup centralized collaboration systems bridging broad varying affordability divides rural poor less attended policy directives adapting institutionalized partnerships fund setups etc inclusionary attitude removed below joined India’s growth roadmap

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Indian Opinion Analysis:

The rise of age-tech startups marks an important shift towards addressing India’s aging demographic challenges-projected at nearly one-fifth of the total population by mid-century-while integrating technology into eldercare shows promise but comes with significant implementation hurdles likely worth tracking redefine-choice-driving socio-economic inclusive bridging iterative fails resolving critical user-centricity metrics felt adversed starkly lonelier prior final pun retropectives impactful redesign socio-layer compatibilities