The growing number of older persons places increasing demands on the public health system and on medical and social services. The needs of the elderly are distinctive and mostly relate to their health, comfortable and dignified living, psychological well being (including recreation and social networking), meaningful occupation (with or without economic gains) and security aspects. Older persons, therefore, need much more than just medical care, which needs an inter-disciplinary approach integrating medicine with the other functions.

Keeping in view the National Policy on Older People (NPOP), DST under its Science and Society Programme has recently launched a new programme on “Technology Interventions for Elderly (TIE)” to create an enabling environment for the elderly. The TIE programme has evolved through a series of consultations involving various stakeholders (geriatric specialists, designers, architects, social scientists, senior citizens, etc.). Five thematic workshops were also organized to deliberate on specific themes. Under this innovative programme, project proposals are supported on conceptualization, research and development for finding technological solutions to address the problems faced by the elderly population and to improve their quality of life. Prestigious academic and research institutions (AIIMS, IITs, IISc, SPA, AIIPMR, National Institute of Social Defence) and NGOs (HelpAge India) are actively associated with the TIE programme.

The possible interventions under TIE include design and development of enabling devices, designs of homes, use of ICT in networking, recreation and entertainment, and health and nutritious food. Academic/R&D institutions in collaboration with NGOs or industry can undertake projects under this programme. The initial focus of the programme will be through projects covering areas such as:

1. S&T interventions on short term and long term needs of elderly population.
2. Development of assistive/enabling devices, good designs and systems for elderly persons.
3. Formulation of bench marks/standards and Package of Practice (POP)/Best Management Practices (BMP) for effective realization of the technology applications for elderly.

SN	PROJECT	ORGANIZATION &PI	PROJECT DATE
1	Nutrition for older adults: Bridging the knowledge gap	Dr Seema Puri, Institute of Home Economics, University of Delhi, New Delhi	20.12.07
2	Development of a wireless sensor network based gait assessment system for fall prediction in elderly patients	Prof. Subrat Kar, Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-16.	31.01.08
3	Development of a web-portal directed at welfare of older people	Prof. A.B. Dey, Department of Geriatrics, AIIMS, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi.	31.03.08
4	Design for the Elderly: “Development of Residential Standards for the Elderly	Prof. G.G.Ray, Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai	30.07.08
5	Creating awareness among the students and Their strategic involvement in product concept development [Design-degree Fellowship under “TIE” programme]	Prof. G.G. Ray, Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai	02.05.08
6	Audio-visual Infotainment Package	Shri Ravindra Surve, International Longevity Center, Pune	23.05.08
7	Status Paper on Technology-integrated Elder Helplines based on a review of existing Elder Helplines in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai	Dr. Sugan Bhatia, President, Indian University Association for Continuing Education (IUACE), New Delhi	12.05.08
8	A study of the Technological Interventions in relation to the Health and Psycho-Social Well Being of the Elderly in NCR	Prof. N.K. Chadha, Department of Psychology Arts Faculty Extension Building, University of Delhi, Delhi	23.09.08
9	Establishing a technology-based model for recreation and dignified living of elderly people in rural areas of district Rudraprayag Uttarakhand	Shri Bhagat Singh Negi, Himalayan Jan Kalyan Avam Bal Vikas Samittee (HIMJAKAS), Distt. Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand	19.03.2009
10	A status paper on technology-integrated old age homes in some metropolitan and tier-two cities in India	Prof. Sugan Bhatia, President, Indian University Association for Continuing Education (IUACE), New Delhi	26.03.2009
11	Technology model for mobile elderly care unit (MEU)-Pilot scale trial in Shimla district in Himanchal Pradesh	Shri Mathew Cherian, Chief Executive Officer HelpAge India, C-14, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi-16	30.03.2009
12	Creating an Online Database for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Assistive Technology (AT) Resources for the Senior Citizens	Ms. Swati Chaktaborty, Co-ordinator, Training, Research, Educational, and Disability Consultancy Services, Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, P35/1, Taratolla Road, Kolkatta-700088	18.06.2009
13	A review of the designs of housing and how they match with the needs of the elderly	Shri Ravindra Surve,International Longevity Center-India, Pune	29.06.09

Some projects already supported by DST under this programme are:

• Development of devices (gait assessment system for fall prediction)
• Compilation of a guidebook on nutritious recipes for healthy eating in old age
• Development of guidelines on residential standards for elderly
• Development of audio-visual infotainment package
• Assessment of technology status of elder helplines in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Pune
• Mobile multipurpose elderly care unit
• Instituting fellowships at master’s level to attract young minds to work on special designs for elderly
• Development of a web portal capturing technologies for elders and related matters
• Tech interventions for health and psycho-social well being of elderly in NCR

Further information or assistance may be obtained from Dr. Usha Dixit, Scientist C SEED (Formerly Science and Society Division) , Department of Science &Technology, Technology Bhawan, New Delhi at usha.dixit@nic.in and usdt01@yahoo.com, Phone: 011-26590322.