Senior grassroots organizations in India.

Organizations for the elderly at the grassroots level began to function in India from the third decade of the 20th century. They belong to two major types: Pensioners' Associations (PAs) and Senior Citizens' Associations (SCAs). PAs claim a membership of approximately 13 million and are structured and vertically organized. The SCAs are loosely organized and most are unitary. They have together a membership of less than 5 million. Programs of PAs are mainly confined to members; those of SCAs are wider but mainly urban-biased and middle-class oriented. Neither of them is powerful in lobbying. Of late, Government of India's (GOI) policy on the elderly (NPOP, 2000) has given a fillip to the SCAs which are gathering strength, and some, at least, are vying for availing GOI program benefits.