As lifespans rise, India is realising caring for its seniors makes good business sense too.

New Delhi: The launch of altruistic start-up Goodfellows, which employs young graduates to provide companionship to senior citizens, made headlines last week largely because of its celebrity investor — Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons.

The company is not the only one, though. With increase in life expectancy, more young Indians choosing to settle abroad, and the first generation of nuclear families now past their retirement age, the business of eldercare — not just healthcare but also hand-holding senior citizens living on their own in their twilight years — has emerged as a burgeoning service sector across cities.

From well-funded celebrity-backed initiatives to small companies set up to meet a demand that is emerging and ever increasing, eldercare as a sector looks all set to expand exponentially in the coming years.

The initial players are in all sizes. A fledgling firm in Kolkata has been doing it for the last two years, while heavyweight Max India’s initiative ‘Antara’ — which piloted one of India’s better-known residential communities for senior citizens in Dehradun — has now expanded into assisted care services and medical products.

However, doctors point out that the advent of geriatric care as a medical discipline in India has not quite kept pace with the business initiatives.