New Delhi

When Reena Kaur retired from her hectic government job two years ago, her husband, Amar Bir Singh Lamba, thought she would finally slow down. He smiles at the memory now.

The 62-year-old has never been busier. Dance classes, gym sessions, coffee with friends… Kaur's days are packed without her stepping outside their senior living facility in Bhiwadi, an hour's drive from Gurugram.

It all began with a Facebook ad in 2018. Intrigued, the couple persuaded their daughter to accompany them to see what was then a little-known concept in India – “active senior living” designed not merely for care but for an active, social and independent life.

“It was the best decision we made,” recalls Lamba, who took voluntary retirement from his marketing job a year before his wife.

Their daughter, now settled in Australia, was initially sceptical. But gave the green signal once she saw the amenities and the vibrant community, he said.

“We are having the time of our lives. The roles have reversed. Earlier, our daughter would say, ‘I am busy, call later.' Now it’s us telling her the same,” laughs the 69-year-old.

The Lambas are hardly an exception.

A new generation of seniors -- financially secure, independent and with children comfortably settled in their own worlds -- is choosing to live their retirement years on their own terms.

Several big names, including DLF and Antara Senior Care, have maximised on the business opportunity of this no longer fledgling market

The trend is not confined to the north. Senior living is now a pan-India phenomenon. The south has emerged as an especially strong market with established communities in cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore and Hyderabad.

The amenities are resort like in keeping with their upscale clientele. From cafés serving multi-cuisine fare and all-weather pools to home theatres and fitness centres, the “retirement homes” come with doctors on call, integrated healthcare and a packed calendar of activities. Besides, the apartments are tailored to the needs of the residents.

Anti-skid floors, bathroom handrails, emergency buttons in rooms and stretcher-friendly lifts, safety is built into every detail. The trick is to design for ageing without making residents feel defined by it.

India's elderly population is projected to touch 230 million by 2036, accounting for nearly 15 per cent of the country's population. Most senior-living communities set the age threshold at 55-60, while rules on children vary -- from temporary stays to permanent residence.

This market did not emerge overnight. Developers first had to convince India to rethink ageing.

Companies such as Ashiana Housing and Antara Senior Care, among the early movers in the space, spotted the demographic shift and began building for a market that was still small, unfamiliar and largely untested.

It was a tough sell in a country rooted in the traditional joint-family model.

Ankur Gupta, joint managing director of Ashiana Housing, which launched its first senior-living project, Ashiana Utsav, in Bhiwadi in 2003, recalls the resistance.

Developers questioned the very idea of senior living, arguing that there was no market and asking if they were trying to separate families. Some, said Gupta, went further and accused the company of “trying to change the culture of India”.

Gupta's counter was blunt: “Can one project change the culture of India?”

"Being a first mover obviously had its advantages, but pioneering a product also came with its own challenges... Luckily, we stuck to our goals and embraced senior living and we benefited from the first-mover advantage," Gupta told PTI.

Today, Ashiana runs nine senior-living projects across Lavasa, Pune, Jaipur and Delhi-NCR. The ticket size, too, has moved up -- from around Rs 1-2 crore in its early projects to Rs 4-5 crore in newer developments.

Alongside active senior living, it offers assisted care for those who need more support -- whether temporarily or for longer periods.

Demand is rising and so are the prices.

According to industry experts, per-square-foot prices in many such projects doubled over the past five years.

The latest report by real estate services and investment management company COlliers India projects organised senior living inventory to quadruple from around 25,000 units to one lakh by 2030.

The findings put the current market at around Rs 30,000 crore, with more than Rs 13,000 crore in investments announced since 2025. It expects the market to reach Rs 70,000 crore by 2028 and cross Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030.

No surprise that the opportunity is attracting both established developers and new entrants.

Real estate major DLF has announced its maiden senior-living development in Gurugram, a project with an estimated revenue potential of Rs 2,000 crore.

Shremoha, a new premium senior independent-living platform formed through a partnership between investment group Shrem and elder care brand Emoha, has also entered the market with upcoming projects in Pune and Gurugram.

For Saumyajit Roy, co-founder and CEO of Emoha and co-founder of Shremoha, the need is clear and real.

"One in five Indians will soon be a senior citizen. The question is no longer whether senior living is needed, but how we create communities that give seniors independence along with the care they need," he explains.

Rajit Mehta, CEO of Antara Senior Care, a wholly owned subsidiary of Max India Limited, sounds a note of caution.

"You can build wheelchair-friendly spaces, emergency systems and other senior-friendly features. But there are nuances that matter -- everything from the height of switches and lighting that prevents night-time falls to enough space around a bed for a wheelchair or stretcher.

“Also, the real game is the ‘software’... Ageing is not linear. What a person needs at 60 can be very different from what they need at 70 or 80. You need an ecosystem where care evolves with the senior,” he notes.

In addition to its flagship luxury senior living project in Dehradun, Antara operates a dedicated premium senior housing community in Gurugram, along with its latest project in Noida.

It all works very well for Rajiv Luthra, 60, a former senior management professional who retired early at 53 and says senior living is a choice "not a fallback".

A year ago, he sold his plush Chandigarh penthouse to move into senior living for good.

“Today, you cannot treat your children like LIC policies. I was clear about that from day one: we have to be independent and live our own lives,” says Luthra, adding that he and his wife are even jokingly called the community’s “Gen Z” since the average age is around 70.

Buoyed by the senior-living sector’s telling signs of growth, Vayah Vikas, an NGO focused on transforming life after retirement, is now pushing for greater attention to middle-income senior housing.

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“We need affordable and middle-income options too, with the government setting minimum standards and private players stepping up to build quality housing that seniors across income groups can access,” says Jamuna Ravi, CEO of Vayah Vikas.

(Senior Citizens’ Day is celebrated every year on August 21. It was proclaimed in 1988 by then US president Ronald Reagan and first celebrated globally in 1991).