Over five years, 73,572 older people in the Northeast received 357,242 assistive devices under Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana, according to a Social Justice Ministry reply released on July 27, 2026. The equipment was valued at Rs 63.67 crore.
The larger device total is not an additional beneficiary count. Assistive support can involve different items for different needs, so adding equipment units to people would substantially misstate the programme's reach.
A separate disability-assistance scheme, ADIP, recorded 81,551 beneficiaries across the region, including 71,131 in Assam. These are scheme-specific counts; without identifying overlap, their sum is not a count of distinct residents.
The ministry's description of Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana explains its practical role: assistive equipment is supplied through ALIMCO, with examples including mobility aids, hearing aids and spectacles. Distribution is a service delivered, but it is not itself a measurement of continued use, fit or improved independence.
More than Rs 48 crore under the state action plan for senior citizens referred to national funding releases. That figure has a wider geographical scope than the Northeast's equipment and beneficiary totals.
