Senior citizens are invaluable assets of the state. They possess knowledge, skills, and experience related to daily and practical needs, including art, language, culture, and tradition. That is why they are also called living history.

There have been many constitutional, legal, procedural and practical efforts in Nepal to promote the rights of senior citizens who have spent their energetic and active lives. However, there is dissatisfaction among senior citizens as not all the legally made provisions have reached the implementation level. 

Article 41 of the Constitution of Nepal provides that senior citizens have the right to special protection and social security from the state under the rights of senior citizens. Article 18 under the right to equality states that special provisions may be made under the law for the protection, empowerment or development of socially or culturally backward women, Dalits, indigenous people, senior citizens and other citizens. Similarly, the responsibility of managing senior citizens, persons with disabilities and the infirm has been included in the single list of rights of the local level under Schedule 8 and entrusted to the local level.

The Senior Citizens Act, 2063 BS was issued to protect and socially secure senior citizens and to increase respect, respect and goodwill towards them by utilizing their knowledge, skills, abilities and experience. This act includes Nepali citizens who have completed 60 years of age in the definition of senior citizens. In addition to making the family responsible for their upbringing and care, if a family member, relative or heir who has the duty to nurture and care for them does not take them with him or does not make arrangements to do so, such a senior citizen or a neighbor who sees it can also file a complaint with the ward president. The party who is dissatisfied with the order given by the ward president can file an application with the local level judicial committee within 7 days.

Section 9(2) of the Act provides that ‘in public vehicles of the type specified by the government by publishing a public notice, the concerned vehicle owner or operator shall reserve at least two seats for senior citizens and shall provide them with at least 50 percent discount on the passenger fare’. For the implementation of the Act, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Government of Nepal, has issued and implemented the Procedure for Providing Discounts or Facilities to Senior Citizens in Public Vehicles, 2070. Section 3 Sub-section (2) of the procedure stipulates that the owner or operator of the vehicle concerned shall provide a fifty percent discount on the passenger fare to at least two senior citizens traveling in a reserved seat.

The Senior Citizens Act, 2063 BS, also stipulates that health service providers shall give priority to senior citizens and that such institutions shall provide at least a fifty percent discount on the treatment fee for the number of senior citizens specified by the Government of Nepal. The Geriatric (Senior Citizen) Health Service Operation Directive 2077 issued by the Ministry of Health and Population stipulates that senior citizens shall be given a 50 percent discount on certain services as prescribed by the hospital management. However, senior citizens complain that this has not been implemented effectively.

The Act itself stipulates that care centers can be established for the disabled, helpless, and senior citizens who have been ordered by the court to be placed in a care center instead of being imprisoned due to the seriousness of the offense, as well as the establishment and operation of day care centers for the daily management of senior citizens living in their homes. Although Article 24 states that the Government of Nepal may provide allowances or facilities to senior citizens, helpless senior citizens and disabled senior citizens on the basis of prescribed criteria, the government has been providing social security allowances to all senior citizens from Dalits and backward areas after they reach the age of 60 and to others after they reach the age of 70.

Rule 14 of the Senior Citizens Regulations, 2065 BS mentions the classification of senior citizens as senior citizens who have not completed 70 years of age, senior senior citizens who have completed 70 years of age, helpless senior citizens, disabled senior citizens and single senior citizens. Although there is a provision to provide different identity cards based on classification, the Act and Regulations do not mention the utility of senior citizen identity cards. Questions have been raised about the appropriateness of the provision of senior citizen identity cards that are not used when citizenship is sufficient as a document to reveal age and identity.