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Progressive living for senior citizens

There is a growing demand for exclusive properties for the elderly

With the break-up of the joint family, do you see growing demand for senior living housing in the country? 
Antara's journey started in 2010 with a vision to build a community of likeminded people, making its residents feel significant, healthy and enriched. India as we see is a rapidly changing and diverse country. Culturally, the big Indian joint family has undergone a transition in a way that people are much open to the fact to give each other their own due space while still living a happy life.
Antara Senior Living was launched after thorough research and groundwork done in various countries in the Asia Pacific region and the US for over three years. We benchmark ourselves with the best-in-class communities across the globe and through our numerous interactions in the past months we have realised that the target audience in India is equally evolved and progressive as compared to any other country.
There is a growing acceptance and demand of such a concept in India. With 50% of our apartments committed, we are even more motivated to continue to build the community. The response so far is very encouraging for the entire team at Antara.
Senior living trend is catching up in India now and there is a positive upswing in the demand for these communities. In this changing social environment, concepts such as senior living communities are becoming acceptable and popular.
With a concept, which is an ecosystem in itself and makes life magical with a perfect blend of lifestyle, life care, hospitality and sound financial thinking, our target customers are independent and progressive seniors above the age of 55 who are looking to make Dehradun their primary home. We have received encouraging response and queries from people living in Indian metros and NRIs since our launch in 2013. 
Would NRIs, or parents of overseas Indians, be among the primary target group for senior living facilities?
Yes, we are most certainly reaching out to the NRI community. Antara Senior Living is useful and works as a great value proposition for those NRIs who may wish to come back to India post their work life or who have parents staying alone in India.
We have received a huge interest from children who have moved out of India and are concerned about the safety, healthcare and well-being of their parents. They are looking out for a suitable senior living community, which offers all services required by their parents to lead a quality life with like-minded people.
For NRIs, Antara proves to be the right choice as it offers the kind of lifestyle that they are used to or would aspire for. Today, the community serves as an opportunity for their parents in India to lead a healthy and active lifestyle besides offering a leisure stay for them as well. Tomorrow, it may also be an option for them to come back and settle here in India in a community, which provides them a lifestyle at par with international standards. 
Has the Indian senior living industry come of age in terms of amenities and facilities, or is still a long way off? 
When it comes to the concept of Senior Living, there are very few options available in India and if we talk about a holistic offering, there is none at the moment. There are very few products designed for this category. As compared to the international markets, senior living concept in India is at a nascent stage and largely underutilised.
We believe Senior Living is a growing sector and it is important to serve this demography with greater emphasis on concentrated healthcare services. Senior living is a well-established concept in many other countries while in India it is still at a promising stage.
We have learnt through our various interactions with seniors in India and abroad that the desire for an active, enjoyable and a healthy life can be fulfilled by providing for vibrant residential communities for seniors. These communities offer various elements such as a sense of home, thoughtful architecture and design and well-being services. We see a huge potential in serving this demography and senior living is one of the most comprehensive offering, which is coming up in a big way in India. 
What has been your experience in providing these facilities to senior citizens? Has there been a good response from both resident Indians and NRIs? 
The response has been very good. We have been building relationships with our residents for a while because for us that is very important. It is not a sales and marketing team but instead a community development team that engages with each prospective client. 
What are the challenges faced by the senior living sector in India? 
One of the biggest challenges which we face today is lack of awareness in this sector. The sector is in its nascent stages and is largely unorganised. While real estate developers can develop integrated communities having facilities like healthcare and community areas with living spaces, challenges like availability of trained and skilled manpower to cater to the specialised needs of senior citizens remain a point of concern.
But as the segment grows and gets the status of an organised industry, solutions to these challenges will eventually emerge. However, it is important to note that these solutions will only occur when the people/companies developing senior living communities in India set things in motion themselves.
We also feel that there is a need for focused attention from the government to identify senior living as a standalone sector besides bringing out policies to help the concept flourish in a nation which beholds a huge number of progressive seniors who want to live an active and quality life with like-minded people.