The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment organized a distribution program under the Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY) on October 2, 2026, at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi. During the event, 662 aids and assistive devices costing over ₹10 lakh were distributed to 114 senior citizens residing in Senior Citizen Homes across Delhi-NCR. The distribution was conducted by Dr. Virendra Kumar, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, and Shri B. L. Verma, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment.
Dr. Virendra Kumar highlighted that the Ministry has decided to expand the distribution of assistive devices to beneficiaries residing in Senior Citizens' Homes across the country, in consonance with the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He emphasized that access to appropriate assistive devices helps senior citizens become more self-reliant in daily activities and lead lives with greater dignity and confidence. The Minister noted that according to Census 2011, India has 10.38 crore senior citizens, with approximately 70% residing in rural areas. To improve accessibility to welfare services, the Ministry plans to increase the number of PM-Divya Asha Kendras from 109 to 300 centers nationwide.
Shri B. L. Verma highlighted that the Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana was launched on April 1, 2017, under the guidance of the Prime Minister to benefit senior citizens in need of aids and assistive devices. He emphasized the Department's initiatives to promote inter-generational bonding and reduce the generation gap while ensuring greater social inclusion and participation of senior citizens. Shri Praveen Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director of Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), highlighted the organization's performance in implementing RVY and underscored the use of Artificial Intelligence to better serve senior citizens in the future.
The program reflects the government's commitment to ensuring dignity, independence, and well-being of senior citizens through initiatives like RVY, which provides physical aids and assisted-living devices to support mobility, independence, and quality of life for elderly citizens in need.