NEWS of Columbia Pacific Communities

aunches hashtag #LoveBeyondAge for Senior Citizens One is never too old to celebrate love. Holding steadfast to the belief, India’s largest senior living community operator, Columbia Pacific Communities launched a unique initiative #LoveBeyondAge, amplifying the voice of the elders on Valentine’s Day and dismissing age-old ideas of senior citizens being too old to find, express or enjoy romantic love.   Often Valentine’s Day is associated with the young, and love is marketed and celebrated as a young person’s thing. Meanwhile, seniors are deemed to have grown out of love and romance. Breaking such stereotypes, Columbia Pacific Communities released a vox pop video showcasing the perspectives of both seniors and millennials and their ideas about love, romance and celebrating the day of love. Speaking about the initiative, Piali Dasgupta, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Columbia Pacific Communities, said “We tend to have an ageist attitude towards love, almost adjudicating that one loses the ability to express and celebrate love as one grows older. These beliefs cannot be farther from the truth. The #LoveBeyondAge initiative beautifully shows how the expressions of love become stronger and more real as one ages. Seniors have lived a lifetime of love, conflict, and finding love again. In matters of true love, it is they who have a lesson or two more to teach the Gen Y and Z and therefore should not be excluded from the mainstream/pop culture depiction of love.” Society at large seems to have a cringe element associated with seniors displaying affection and eschew such narratives as much as possible. Even on celluloid, there’s rarely any story on elderly love. However, the vox-pop video proved that love has nothing to do with age and showed the most romantic and graceful expressions of love by seniors. It also featured elderly social media influencers sharing their views on love. Companionship, love, and togetherness continue to play an important role in the lives of seniors and love transcends the majorly materialistic and physical urges, while becoming more emotional, pure, sensual, and graceful amongst seniors. The core brand purpose of Columbia Pacific Communities is to popularize the concept of positive ageing and shatter all age-related stereotypes. Love is an important element of positive aging. The initiative does not just celebrate love amongst seniors but also demolishes false notions about seniors shying away from celebrating Valentine’s Day. This is not the first time Columbia Pacific Communities has encouraged the expression of love among seniors. Last year, the organization’s initiative ‘#ExpressionsOfLove’ on the occasion of Valentine’s Day saw a collaboration with Taj Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru for an elaborate, 100 dishes lunch for three couples to celebrate love in all its myriad forms and glory. This year with #LoveBeyondAge, Columbia Pacific Communities has raised a pertinent question on our comprehension and view of love and its expressions amongst seniors in our society.

Senior living communities are designed quite differently from residential condominium complexes. These are specifically meant to cater to the needs of the senior citizens, and therefore, certain important aspects should be kept in mind while designing a senior living community. Although recent revisions in the building codes have focused on assisted living, the continuum of senior housing is defined by a progression in the level of care provided. While designing the communities for seniors, individual needs, and physical capabilities should be taken into consideration. It follows that the entire community, in fact, each area should be designed in a manner that these are accessible and usable by all residents throughout their stay, irrespective of their age. Nowadays, senior citizens are embracing their retirement stage as a period when they are able to pursue their interests and passions. They wish to invest their time and energy in those pursuits. Positive ageing is an approach to life, and seniors today are more aspirational than the generations that preceded them. More people are reaching their age of retirement in better physical shape. They are financially sound and have a greater desire to remain independent. Senior living communities need to be designed, keeping all these expectations in mind. Thriving senior living communities must be vibrant and engaging to encourage social interaction. The design must incorporate ample public areas–both indoors and outdoors. This is to allow like-minded residents to meet and engage in activities of common interest. Almost 8–12 percent of the habitable space in a senior living community should be dedicated to such common areas. Also, senior living communities need to incorporate certain features that allow the service provider to deliver both hospitality and healthcare services. The residents of a senior living community are relaxed movers and have a rhythm to their day. This is very different from the service providers, who are younger and move at a more urgent pace. Community design should facilitate the movement of both these users in a manner that does not overlap or intersect. This is good for productivity and very important for the safety of all users. Keeping in mind that eyesight and hearing capabilities do atrophy with time, the design of the interiors and equipment specifications must allow for these changes. Lighting levels and fittings throughout the community should ensure shadow-free and uniform lighting. This assists with depth perception and prevents falls. Also, ceiling and wall treatments, especially in public spaces, should enhance some sound frequencies while absorbing other frequencies to provide optimal sound levels and quality. Another trend in senior living architecture is a design plan that makes the kitchen a central common area, as opposed to a standard visitation room. Just like a larger overall plan, the idea behind a communal kitchen is to promote user engagement. At last, it is not just how you develop your senior living facility, but also the location in which you choose to build it. In the past few years, there has been an increase in the demand for senior homes in urbanised central locations. This kind of environment makes the inhabitants feel less isolated and more independent.

“This is a well-balanced, progressive, and revolutionary Budget focused on growth and welfare. It will act towards the restoration of normalcy to the movement of people and their livelihood activities,” said Murali Malayappan, Chairman and Managing Director, Shriram Properties Ltd. So, how does this Budget impact the real estate industry? More importantly, how does it help prospective homebuyers, investors, senior citizens, and NRIs? We asked the experts to help us decode the Budget. For NRIs What FM said: “When Non-Resident Indians return to India, they have issues with respect to their accrued incomes in their foreign retirement accounts. This is usually due to a mismatch in taxation periods. They also face difficulties in getting credit for Indian taxes in foreign jurisdictions. I propose to notify rules for removing their hardship of double taxation.” What it means: The announcement seeks to remove double taxation for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) on income accrued through foreign retirement benefits accounts. The tax department will notify rules to remove hardships of double taxation faced by NRIs. What is double taxation? As the name suggests, NRIs are taxed on the same income twice, both in India and the country of residence. In India, they are taxed on income earned or accrued within India. How the industry reacted? Welcoming the move, Sanjay Dutt, MD & CEO, Tata Realty and Infrastructure Limited said, “Acknowledging the role of NRIs, the government’s decision to remove double taxation will improve the overall sentiments significantly.” Reiterating the same, Rohit Poddar, Managing Director, Poddar Housing and Development Ltd. said, “Giving relief to NRIs from double taxation will give a sentiment boost to the real estate sector.” For senior citizens What FM said: “In the 75th year of Independence of our country, we shall reduce the compliance burden on senior citizens. For senior citizens who only have a pension and interest income, I propose exemption of filing of income tax returns.” What it means: Well, the senior citizens above 75 years with only pension income have now been exempted from filing the Income Tax returns. How the industry reacted? “Senior citizens constitute 9% of the population. This number will progressively increase to be 20% by 2050. Our seniors are currently battling high inflation, dropping interest rates on savings, increasing medical expenses, and the second-highest GST slab rates on in-home services. I am not sure if relief from filing returns on income tax is adequate recognition for a lifetime of service to the nation,” said Mohit Nirula, CEO, Columbia Pacific Communities. Also Read: Union Budget 2021-22: Infrastructure Receives the Lion’s Share For homebuyers  What FM said: “For realisation of the goal of ‘Housing for All’ and affordable housing, in the last budget I had announced an additional deduction of up to Rs 1,50,000 for interest paid on loans taken for purchase of an affordable house. The deduction was allowed on housing loans sanctioned on or before 31st March, 2020. In order to ensure that more persons avail this benefit, I propose to extend the date of loan sanction for availing this additional deduction by one more year. “Further, in order to boost the supply of affordable houses in the country, a tax holiday is provided on the profits earned by developers of affordable housing project approved by 31st March, 2020. In order to promote the affordable housing projects, I propose to extend the date of approval of affordable housing projects for availing this tax holiday by one more year.” What it means: The period to avail additional tax benefits of Rs 1.5 lakh for interest paid on home loan for the purchase of an affordable house has been extended till March 31, 2022. This benefit is over and above the tax advantage of Rs 2 Lakh available under Section 24 (B) of the Income Tax Act. Further, to keep up the supply of affordable housing, the finance minister proposed that affordable housing projects can avail a tax holiday for another year till March 31, 2022. How the industry reacted? “Extending the tax holiday for another year till March 31, 2022, for affordable housing projects is a positive step in achieving the government’s objective of Housing for all by 2022. Additionally, providing a deduction for the interest of Rs 1.5 Lakh paid for the loan taken for the purchase of an affordable house to March 31, 2022, will motivate homebuyers to purchase their dream home as they will be able to repay their loans much faster thereby speeding up the residential sales. We welcome these incentives as it will boost the demand and supply in the affordable housing segment,” said Nishant Deshmukh, Managing Director of Sugee Group. For investors  Budget 2021 also proposed to make a dividend payment to REITs and InvITs exempt from tax deducted at source (TDS). REITs and InvITs are vehicles that allow developers to monetize revenue-generating real estate and infrastructure assets. Welcoming the move, Anshuman Magazine, Co-Chairman, CII National Committee on Real Estate & Housing and Chairman and CEO – India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE said, “Proposing to make dividend payments to REIT and Infrastructure investment trusts exempt from TDS this year is another great move as it will help address the liquidity situation in the real estate industry.” Major misses  Although several proposals were announced for the benefit of taxpayers, there was no change in income tax slab rates. “Disposable income is a substantial constraint on demand so personal tax relief must be addressed by revisiting the tax slabs and also increasing the deduction limit under Section 80C. Such benefits will provide crucial support to the real estate sector,” said Rakesh Reddy, Director, Aparna Constructions & Estates. Echoing similar views, Surendra Hiranandani, Chairman and Managing Director, House of Hiranandani said, “The government could have given a further boost to real estate with few additional reforms. There have been many pressing concerns in the sector that have not been addressed such as easing liquidity, reduction in levies/taxes, tax deductions on home loans to give impetus to buyer sentiment, granting of industry status to the overall real estate sector, implementation of single window clearance, amongst others.”  

Columbia Pacific Communities’ Piali Dasgupta pens down senior care marketing trends that brands should take note for possible collaborations in 2021. Senior care as an industry has seen a tipping point in 2020. With senior citizens being the worst affected demographic in the pandemic, and the feelings of isolation, loneliness, anxiety, uncertainty and helplessness engulfing them, this demographic has realised the need and the importance of compassionate, round-the-clock care and comfort. This, in turn, has spurt the demand for senior living communities in the country, and also senior care products and services on the whole. 2021, from the senior care perspective, will be a year of growth and opportunities. With that as context, the following will be the top trends in senior care marketing in 2021. Celebrating Seniors From straight jacket narratives on products and services, the focus would shift to the user demographic, ie, senior citizens. It would be about their attitudes, behaviour patterns, cultural references, nostalgia and all that make up their universe. At Columbia Pacific Communities, time and again, we have shone the spotlight on our senior residents. Be it our recent Christmas campaign where our senior residents came together to enact Jingle Bells for the deaf and mute community using sign language or video campaign, “Community Beats Uncertainty”, where three of our senior residents lent their voices to the video. Retirement communities in the USA such as Brookdale and Holiday Senior Living do an enviable job of celebrating their residents’ lives on social media. Senior care brands would focus their content marketing efforts on UGC and testimonials, given that these are important tools to build authenticity as well bring the focus back on those that the industry has the privilege of serving. Collaboration & Partnerships Senior care is an emerging industry with a large number of start-ups who have identified the opportunity in the category, given that 8% of the country’s population are senior citizens and they are hungry to serve this market. 2021 will see a lot of brand partnerships and collaborations in this space, in a bid to build symbiotic relationships, save or stretch marketing dollars, reach out to the specific target groups without spending on mass marketing and ultimately to create value for customers. Influencer Marketing Traditionally, senior care as a category has not really invested in celebrity partnerships or influencer marketing. However, with a large number of senior social media influencers such as Chinna Dua, whose impeccable style and gorgeous sarees have been winning the internet, or Poonam Sapra (@motherwithasign) whose pearls of wisdom has countless fans, brands would come forward to partner with them in order to reach out to their target audience. The trend has already started in a small way with senior living operators such as Antara roping in celebrities such as Sadhguru and Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi (for their events) and Athashri collaborating with Sunil Gavaskar. Technology as a Key Enabler It’s largely a misconception that senior citizens are averse to technology. Today’s seniors are well versed with technology, use social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, access email and WhatsApp regularly. Senior care brands, including senior living operators have leaned on technology massively to drive sales – whether it is virtual site visits and walk throughs, online booking or even using features such as WhatsApp calls to help seniors make a purchase decision remotely. Brands such as Seniority have even made medical care a lot more accessible for seniors. In March 2020, Seniority partnered with DocsApp, a digital healthcare platform, to create an online portal offering 24/7 healthcare support for seniors, where they could consult doctors, consume content in the form of blogs, articles and webinars to keep themselves abreast of corona virus related news and finings. If medical experts are to be believed, it will take a year for the vaccine to be available to all. And hence, technology will continue to be a very important enabler in the customer lifecycle, bringing senior customers closer to purveyors, one video call at a time. This piece has been authored by Piali Dasgupta, Senior Vice President – Marketing, Columbia Pacific Communities.

Look at their revenues which are now fixed post retirement and see what can be done to help with bank interests, so that seniors get and remain ahead of the inflation curve through the deposits and saving that they have made. It is only fair that in the golden years of their life, we be able to support them. Shahid Akhter, editor, ETHealthworld spoke to Mohit Nirula, CEO, Columbia Pacific Communities, to know about his expectations from the budget that would have positive impact on the life of senior citizens who have spent thei r entire live paying taxes. Budget Expectations The Budget post covid and post the impact of covid on the economy needs to be substantially different from the ones that we have seen in the past. The covid pandemic was one which affected the economy not just on the supply side but on the demand side. And I know, that the government has done a lot with regards to stimulating the economy but what would be really nice if the budget for 2021 – 22 were to focus on stimulating demand because once the population of a country, as large and populous as ours, starts to spend. It has a positive knock on effect all the way through the economy and the general mood. So that is the one expectation that I would expect to be remarkable, be different from previous budgets, which is to a focus on stimulating demand. Wish list As Columbia Pacific Communities who has the privilege of serving over 3000 seniors in our 9 communities. Our request to the government would be to really assist and support our residents and so many seniors in the country on three aspects: Look at their revenues which are now fixed post retirement and see what can be done to help with bank interests, so that seniors get and remain ahead of the inflation curve through the deposits and saving that they have made. On the expenses side we would like the government to consider services provided to seniors in communities designed specifically for them should be exempt of GST. They have spent their entire life paying taxes. It is only fair that in the golden years of their life, we be able to support them. Any step that the government can take to reform banking laws that allow for better returns on reverse mortgage, would go a long way in ensuring that seniors can enjoy and take benefit of the assets that they have created over life.

While the outburst of COVID-19 has had its repercussions on practically all areas of human existence, the pandemic specifically highlighted the need to provide a permanent solution to the day-to-day issues faced by our seniors. As India looks forwards to unlock the senior care market, measures to promote senior living and wellbeing have positively impacted the demand and growth of the segment. Mr. Mohit Nirula, CEO of Columbia Pacific Communities, in discussion with ASLI and Unmukt, mentioned that, “The current scenario creates ideal opportunities for all relevant stakeholders of the industry to assess and deliberate on the challenges, solutions and future roadmap for senior care and living in India. The 3rd ASLI Annual Senior Care Conclave, organized by Association of Senior Living India (ASLI) in partnership with Unmukt – The Senior Hub, to be held virtually from January 22-24, 2021 is the right platform in this direction.’ Nirula further elaborates that during the COVID-19 lockdown, Columbia Pacific Communities saw a spike in customer queries with a a long waiting list of people who wants to get into senior living communities. “We have waiting lists for nine communities with future residents waiting to get accommodation that they can rent or purchase on resale. Another facility – The Virtuoso Club in Bangalore, is experiencing unprecedented demand. Sales, since September have exceeded. Organic traffic on website has grown four-fold since the pandemic.” With ‘Reimagining the Senior Care Landscape’ as the theme, the three-day conclave aims to facilitate discussion and exchange of ideas on key areas that impact senior care through thoughtfully curated sessions and panel discussions. The virtual conclave will witness participation from distinguished Government dignitaries, eminent speakers and industry experts. Register to 3rd ASLI Annual Senior Care Conclave – http://www.asli.org.in/3rd-asli-annual-senior-care-conclave/ About Columbia Pacific Communities Columbia Pacific Communities (CPC) is India’s largest and most experienced senior living community operator with close to 1600 residential units under management in 5 cities and 9 locations across south India. As the pioneers in this category it is committed to reimagining the concept of senior living in India and create world-class practices that exceed these expectations of all our stakeholders. It is part of the Columbia Pacific group, one of the foremost developers of senior living communities in the United States, Canada and South East Asia. Founded by Dan Baty, Columbia Pacific has more than 40 years of experience and expertise in designing, building and managing senior housing communities around the world. The team, with the expertise of their principals in the United States of America and our partners in India, brings together rich experience in senior housing design, development and management.  

Columbia Pacific Management is the largest developer of senior housing in the United States. It is involved in senior care business for 45 years across the US, UK, and France. Due to the rapidly changing cultural relationship between parents and children, India offers a huge opportunity for senior care/living. Read on for excerpts of the interview. 1. How are you planning on reinventing senior care in India? Nothing would give us at Columbia Pacific Communities greater pleasure than changing the wholly undeserved perception of senior living communities being a solution for people who have “no option” to being the “preferred solution” for seniors living alone in mixed-family communities or in their homes. 2. Sensing the opportunity in the senior living market, many real estate developers in India investing in Retirement homes. What sets you apart from the competitors? Senior living communities are an interesting amalgam of real estate, hospitality and healthcare.  Columbia Pacific Communities with its promoters’ four-decade-long legacy in senior living, the hospitality-rich experience of the team in India and healthcare partners Columbia Asia Hospitals is the only complete solution provider in the country. 3. When it comes to the senior living sector, what challenges did you face in 2020 and how did you overcome those? COVID-19 was the single biggest challenge for Columbia Pacific Communities and our 3,000 residents.  Our success in being able to ringfence our communities from the virus and the external environment was a consequence of the efforts of our wonderful ground operations team members, the support of the Resident Committees and the cooperation of our residents. 4. How did technology help with the challenges created due to the pandemic in 2020? Technology-enabled communication allowed us to keep residents updated with medical protocols and protected from the large amounts of misinformation and disinformation that circulated during the early months of the pandemic. Equally, digital video interactions kept residents connected with friends and family besides remaining engaged in community activities thereby ensuring that physical distancing did not result in loneliness. Social media features such as Facebook Live helped us create engagement programmes that kept seniors meaningfully engaged. And technology platforms even helped us create a 100% digital talent hunt across our 9 communities during the pandemic. 5. While constructing senior living communities, what are the important things you keep in mind? From a design perspective, it is very important that residents are able to access, use and enjoy all parts of the community throughout their stay – irrespective of the impact of advancing years on their mobility. Furthermore, public spaces of a senior living community should be spacious and designed to ensure and encourage social engagement with residents being able to pursue their individual and common interests. 6. In a country like India, where the concept of a joint family still exists, how do you see the demand of senior living homes in the next 5 years? High levels of education and increased career opportunities are taking children away from their parent’s home cities.  Also, increasing life expectancy, better medical care means people are living longer and healthier lives.  The current gap between demand (200,000 homes) in urban India and supply (20,000 homes) is only expected to grow. 7. Right now, you have branches in Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Puducherry & Kanchipuram. Which other cities are you planning to expand in India in 2021? We would start construction on new projects in the cities of Pune, Chennai and Bengaluru in 2021 – 22. 8. Please tell us about your upcoming projects and plans in 2021. Our next project in Bangalore, from the Joint Venture we have with Embassy Properties, is located in the 200 acres integrated township – Embassy Edge and is currently under design. Also, in an advanced design stage is the project located in the south of Pune with Nyati Group, our joint venture partner in Maharashtra. The third project will be a Columbia Pacific development in Chennai. 9. Please summarise your 2020 with the help of 5 sets of numbers (in terms of growth, statistics, team etc). One project launched, two joint ventures inked, three times increase in sales velocity, four times increase in organic traffic to our award-winning website and infinite blessings from our residents and their families.

To logically predict the outlook for the senior living sector in 2021, one must examine the various factors that have been impacting society over the last couple of decades and how the once in a lifetime event of 2020 will lift the senior living sector to a completely changed paradigm. Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) and Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) are increasingly finding themselves living on their own. This is a function of two distinct sociological changes that have been taking place in the country over the past couple of decades. In the first place, this generation has given their children the advantage of improved access to quality education. This combined with greater employment opportunities across India and other parts of the world have allowed the children to pursue better and more rewarding careers while taking them away from the home city of their parents. At the same time, better medical facilities, a healthier lifestyle, improved savings, and an aspirational approach to living means more and more “seniors” prefer to live independently, pursue their interests and passions with great vigour after their formal retirement and have the means, the time and the energy to do so. However, with time, these seniors increasingly need to depend on external service providers to support and fulfil their daily needs. This applies as much to security, housekeeping and maintenance requirements as it does to travel for socialising and their medical needs. What the seniors need is an enabler. A service provider who fulfils their day-to-day needs; and a living space that provides them with the necessary infrastructure to enjoy a socially engaging lifestyle. The same space and service provider should also be able to address their current and emergent medical needs. Given that physical, mental, intellectual, and spiritual needs change over time, the community and services provider should also be able to adapt and enhance support over time. Well designed and serviced senior living communities are the solution to this requirement. Even before 2020, it was estimated that there was a demand for 200,000 homes in senior living communities in urban India. At that time, less than 20,000 homes – half ready-to-move-in and the other half in various stages of development were available in the country. COVID – 19 and the lockdowns in 2020 exposed how ill-prepared we are as a society to look after the needs of our seniors – especially as they become dependent on others for their daily living. Seniors residing alone in their homes – individual villas or in apartments in mixed-family condominiums found themselves completely at the mercy of others. Their children, unable to travel themselves or provide any assistance from afar were equally distraught at their helplessness. When compared against the experience of seniors living on communities designed to fulfil their needs, the contrast was palpable. Good senior living communities were able to ringfence their residents from the external environment. Continued social interaction with like-minded neighbours and friends while maintaining physical distancing ensured there was no loneliness. Round-the-clock availability of medical support provided peace of mind to residents and their children. It is this experience that is now driving the 4x increase in demand and interest as seen by the velocity in sales in new projects, waiting lists for rental or re-purchase at ready to move in communities, organic traffic to website and support of both friends and family of seniors seeking such a solution. Since senior living communities are a complex combination of real estate, hospitality services and healthcare, with their unique and core specializations, one expects to see more collaborative efforts between developers and service providers as they synergise their competencies to develop solutions for residents. Senior living communities, until recently have been confined to areas outside the heart of the cities or in smaller towns / suburbs. These will change with developers seeing them as an important part of the integrated townships that they develop. I am convinced that given the size of the demand, the real need for this solution, and the growing acceptance of the concept, 2021 will see senior living communities shedding their wholly undeserved perception of being a solution for people who have “no option” to being the “preferred solution” for seniors wanting to enjoy life to the fullest. This article is contributed by Mohit Nirula, CEO, Columbia Pacific Communities. The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of RoofandFloor.

Experts are now going by the government assurance that the Covid-19 vaccine has gone through rigorous efficacy checks, and is absolutely safe to take. Just as the country gets ready for the Covid-19 vaccine roll out, vaccinating a huge population in a diverse geography is a challenge. But India has a strong national Pediatric Immunization Programme in place, its amalgamation with a robust election process will help with the vaccine deployment, said Dr Rahul Pandit, director, critical care, Fortis Hospitals, Mumbai & Member of Maharashtra’s Covid-19 task force. Serum Institute of India and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is a vector-based and gone through three significant trial stages with 70% efficacy rate. We can emphatically say that the vaccine has gone through rigorous trials, followed processes mandated for its manufacture and rolled out within a year. There is absolutely no cause for worry. However, people with severe drug allergies leading to anaphylaxis reaction and those with compromised immune systems need to seek doctors consent before they take the vaccine, he added. Also, making the vaccine available free of cost for Indians is a huge step taken by the government. Healthcare leaders such as Union minister of health & family welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan strongly advocated for the vaccine, and assured people that the vaccine has gone through rigorous efficacy checks, and is absolutely safe to take, he added. For Dr Kanchan Sanyal, advisor, health and wellness, Columbia Pacific Communities, the Covid-19 vaccine is a primer for senior citizens. Some vaccines have passed the tests, and many are almost there, awaiting regulatory safeguards. The basis of a vaccine is that the body responds to the protein component of the virus and launches an immune response to fight the disease. This immune response must give adequate protection, both immediate and long term. Moderna and Pfizer vaccines employ a new technology using the viral RNA to stimulate an immune response whereas AstraZeneca’s Covishield), Sputnik, Johnson & Johnson are riding on the already used technology of the Zika and Ebola vaccines. From an India stand point, Indian Immunologicals and Bharat Serum Institute’s Covaxin are world leaders in vaccines for polio, cholera, chickenpox vaccines and are using this knowledge and technique for their vaccines. Any vaccine can have side effects, but they are miniscule compared to the good they do to the individual and society. Vaccination is voluntary. We already have successful experiences in vaccines, tried and tested in many diseases, she added.

As the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm in March 2020, the senior living industry, too, felt a massive hit, similar to other sectors of the economy. However, as the pandemic has exposed the already existing vulnerabilities faced by our seniors, the segment is likely to witness heightened demand in 2021.  While the outburst of COVID-19 has had its repercussions on practically all areas of human existence, the pandemic specifically highlighted the need to provide a permanent solution to the day-to-day issues faced by our seniors. As India looks forwards to unlock the senior care market, measures to promote senior living and wellbeing have impacted the demand and growth of the segment. Largely perceived to be a game-changer for almost all the sectors of the Indian economy, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the contrast in the experience of the seniors living in their own homes or in apartments within mixed-family communities, against that of the seniors residing in communities designed with their demographic in mind. During the entire 2020, the residents of the senior living communities pursued their passion while participating in wellness and wellbeing programs that continually enabled them to live in a socially engaged yet physically distanced environment. As a consequence, the demand for residential spaces in senior living communities has grown up exponentially in the last one year. This is even more true for communities that have ready-to-move-in units. As per our observation, several potential residents are keen to rent homes or buy homes in these communities on re-sale from the existing owners. Not only ready-to-move-in units, but the demand for projects under development has also gone up by manifold. As concerns about health and wellbeing have taken centre stage amid the Coronavirus spread, there is a paradigm shift in the mindset of the senior citizens. Seniors who were unwilling to stay in these communities earlier are now ready to relocate to these homes. Children staying abroad or in other cities are actively searching for these communities for their parents who stay alone in their home towns. This tectonic shift will change the entire outlook and the future of this sector The increase in the demand for senior living and the yawning gap between the supply and demand of senior living communities have further propelled the real estate developers to examine this category. Therefore, the supply of senior living homes, especially in the outskirts of metros is likely to witness a surge in the coming year. At of now, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities dominate the senior living segment with 60 percent share of ongoing and completed projects from reputed developers. As a trend that is fast picking up the pace, real estate developers are actively looking to partner with service providers that have the necessary expertise, track record and credibility in the fields of hospitality and healthcare. Senior living communities created by the developers of repute and serviced by organisations having proven excellence are expected to gain immense prominence. As the buyers are attesting their affinity for reliable brands in the segment, players are walking the extra mile to provide the customers with a hassle-free buying experience. Since the majority of demand is expected to come from the MIG, NRI, and HNI groups, projects would now be judged based on the quality of services.