India’s rising population of elderly citizens presents challenges for both the government and the society to take care of them and provide them a worry-free life. The concept of government and the society shouldering the responsibility shaped the approach to care for the elderly. This welfare-centric approach led to prioritising various governmental support schemes, including cash payouts and support for their shelter and health. Rethinking care for the elderly citizens in terms of economy and focusing on their empowerment has unlocked economic opportunities for startups which have come forward to innovate technological solutions to make their lives much more comfortable. Information provided by the central government in the Lok Sabha quoting figures from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India conducted under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare presents a gloomy picture of more than 23% of the persons aged 60 and above suffering from at least one limitation in activities of their day-to-day life, indicating varying degrees of care dependency. The dilution of joint family models and the transition to nuclear family models, particularly in urban areas, have increased the care dependency of elderly citizens manifold and reduced their social safety protection that is prioritised in the joint family model. Nuclear family models have also spread to rural areas, with rural youth migrating to cities and other urban growth centres in search of green pastures, often with their families. Such a transition in rural India has also given rise to an urban-rural divide among the elderly in access to technology, and this presents a harsher reality of elderly citizens living comparatively more vulnerable lives in rural areas. Such ground realities call for an area-specific approach for strengthening care for elderly citizens. Explaining the challenge of old age income security, the National Policy on Senior Citizens 2011 highlights that most elderly people will never retire in the usual sense of the term and will continue to work as long as physically possible, though the ability to produce and earn will decline with age. The absence of savings will result in a sharp decline in living standards that for many can mean destitution. The policy underscores the need for special attention to elderly women and their problems, as their numbers are likely to increase in the future, and, given the multiple disadvantages they face in life, they are likely to be grossly unprepared to tackle these issues. A lifetime of gender-based discrimination, often stemming from deep-rooted cultural and social bias, exacerbates the problems of elderly women. Other forms of discrimination based on class, caste, disability, illiteracy, unemployment, and marital status compound it. Patriarchal hierarchy and access to property rights are also discriminatory. Burdened with household chores for a longer span of time compared to older men, older women do not have time for leisure or recreational activity. Women experience proportionately higher rates of chronic illness and disability in later life than men. Women suffer greater non-communicable diseases and experience lower social and mental health status, especially if they are single and widowed, the policy document adds to put in perspective how women and men age differently. The NITI Aayog’s ‘Senior Care Reforms in India – Reimagining the Senior Care Paradigm: A Position Paper’ published in 2024 points out that “At present, senior care services largely consist of facility-based medical care only. Non-medical care and home-based senior care in the field have received minimal attention.” This is a critical gap that needs to be addressed urgently. The Apex Policy think tank points out that there are, among others, “specific interventions for ensuring digital inclusion, including improving access to digital devices for seniors by making them affordable, focusing on increasing digital literacy, and harnessing the potential of modern technology.” The Seniorcare Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE) component of the flagship scheme for elderly citizens Atal Vayo Abhyudaya Yojana, implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, promotes startups working on products and services for the welfare of elderly people in areas such as health, housing, care services and technology-enabled solutions. The prescribed criteria under this component require innovative ideas to be recognised at national-level innovation challenges, such as the Smart India Hackathon, in order to be eligible to receive support under the scheme. Besides, startups currently operating in the elderly care segment in the country and seeking to expand their operations can also seek venture fund support, and the selection of startups for their promotion is undertaken through a multi-stage appraisal process involving expert and departmental committees which go into detailed investment assessment, disbursement and monitoring. Building awareness of varying degrees of challenges faced by elderly citizens of the country and about venture fund support available for startups can encourage many new innovative ideas for making lives of senior citizens dignified, secure and comfortable. Innovative elderly care can fuel the engines of the silver economy.