Concern over move to discontinue Elderline’s State-level operations

Elderline, the national helpline for the elderly (toll-free number 14567) that had barely gotten back on track in Kerala in the middle of 2025 after functioning amid severe limitations for nearly two years, is now looking at another change that threatens to impact the quality of assistance provided to the aged.

The helpline is a vital support system for the elderly, especially since the percentage of the elderly in the State’s population is projected to touch 22.8% by 2036.

Launched in the State in November 2021, the helpline, jointly implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) in association with State implementing agencies, was making effective interventions when it was hobbled by staff cuts, reduced funding, and scaling down of services. It then took nearly two years for the Elderline functioning to become more streamlined.

Over 20,000 calls a month

Just when things were looking up—the helpline received over 20,000 calls this January alone—the Union government has taken a decision to discontinue the State-level offices and convert the helpline into a centralised zonal project from April 1.

The operations will be handled by Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. instead of the NISD. The south zone office will likely be headquartered in Hyderabad. This means, all calls from the south zone, including from Kerala, will connect to the Hyderabad office.

The proposed restructuring has raised concerns that the elderly may find it difficult to navigate vernacular language options or access services through the IVR (interactive voice response) technology that involves keypad inputs or voice prompts. A question mark hangs over the effectiveness of the service as a large number of the elderly contact the helpline to obtain Kerala-specific information such as pension details, welfare schemes, or old-age homes and seek in-person support at local offices, it is pointed out.

Kerala has been handling an average 300 calls a day, but it is not clear if the same call volume can be maintained from the zonal offices or what the fate of the current employees will be.

Schemes to be hit

The restructuring will also put a question mark over the implementation of the Social Justice department’s Sallapam scheme that seeks to eliminate loneliness experienced by the elderly by connecting them to the younger generation through telephone.

As Elderline is the helpline for the tracking software being readied by Kerala for the maintenance scheme for the elderly, any change will make it difficult for the elderly to file maintenance applications and ascertain their status, get copies of the maintenance verdict, or update the status of the maintenance payments.

The State has decided to appoint one field response officer (FRO) in each district as part of the Sayamprabha rapid response team (RRT) initiative to ensure safety of the elderly, their rehabilitation, and welfare. Plans are also there for the calls to Elderline to be entrusted to the FROs for quick action. Feedback from the elderly too can be known through the helpline. Without Elderline in the State, the functioning of RRT will be compromised, it is feared.

The Union government has taken the decision without any consultation with States or providing clarity in how Elderline will be implemented, it is alleged.