NEWS of Columbia Pacific Communities

While India is currently vaccinating healthcare and frontline workers against COVID-19 the government will be able to start administering vaccines to those above the age of 50, hopefully, in the next 2 weeks commencing the next phase of the country’s nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive. Despite the fact that the virus is a new and a highly transmissible one, the medical fraternity has learnt immensely from it in the last year. It has managed to fight the disease, analyse and lay down protocols for the treatments, and above all, have worked from all parts of the world together as one to produce reliable and safe vaccines in record time. Therefore, as your much awaited turn rolls in, here are some precautions you should remember to adhere to before you go to the health facility for your inoculation. Some of these precautions apply to any vaccine you may have taken before this. 1)  Take normal diet the evening before the vaccine. 2)  Avoid alcohol before the injection (and for a few days after). This helps in reducing any mild side effects you may have. 3) Clarify with your physician about your underlying illnesses and medical history (the Ministry of Health and Family Planning, Govt. of India has issued clear guidelines and your physician will be aware of this). Precautions specific to the COVID-19 vaccine: 1) The three basics of COVID-19 preventive measures will have to be followed (i.e. wearing a mask, hand hygiene and social distancing) at the vaccination site and in public places. 2) Cough /sneeze etiquette should be practiced in all areas. 3) Register yourself for the vaccine and go to the centre designated to you on the date intimated. 4) Do not worry about side effects. Any vaccine can have side effects but they are miniscule compared to the good they do to the individual and to the society. Vaccines are voluntary, so decide for yourself but remember that we already have a vast experience in vaccines, tried and tested in many diseases to make the world a healthy place for ourselves and our children. With the COVID-19 vaccines, we have learnt to deal with this disease scientifically, clearly and with optimism.

Senior citizens as a demographic has long been neglected and obliterated from pop culture, media, entertainment. No one wants to talk to them, acknowledge their presence, or even sell to them, because the general attitude is that senior citizens are irrelevant, redundant and unimportant to mainstream dialogues. After all, when was the last time we saw a senior citizen on the cover of a magazine? How many times has Bollywood pegged a big budget film around an elderly protagonist? And so, it’s no surprise that advertisers and marketers would follow suit and overlook this audience segment too. In a country of 104 million seniors, it’s perhaps a bit strange that there are barely any campaigns featuring seniors on Valentine’s Day, barring those made by senior care brands. Take any category – FMCG, Retail, Fashion and Lifestyle, BFSI, FMCD, and there’s no sign of a 55+ character in love in an ad film. It’s perhaps because older people tend to spend less on occasions such as Valentine’s Day. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Far from it. Seniors residents at our communities observe the day enthusiastically every year, in their own way. And that’s precisely the point that we wanted to make through out Valentine’s Day campaign #LoveBeyondAges this year which reached 1.4 million people and garnered widespread media coverage amounting to an earned media value of over Rs 10 lakhs. That love or the feeling of being in love has nothing to do with age. We interviewed millennials and Gen-Z and also seniors for their take on love and more specifically Valentine’s Day. And what was revealed was that seniors are as enthusiastic about love and expressions of love as young people. And hence, they should be part of Valentine’s Day brand narratives as much as the younger generations. There have been a few non ageist Valentine’s Day campaigns over the year that must be acknowledged. One is reminded of the brilliant Valentine’s Day ad campaign called “The Kiss” back in 2013 made by Grey London for Vodafone where a couple is seen through the passage of time, the only constant being their passionate kiss, or even the Love Is Forever ad, a similar campaign done by KFC in 2011. Closer home, Big Bazaar, in their Valentine’s Day campaign last year titled #LoveSabKeLiye, released a heart-warming ad featuring domestic banter between an elderly, middle class couple. But these apart, brands by and large tend to avoid senior citizen narratives, with most brand managers stating that senior citizens are not their target group. And here is why that is perhaps not the best approach. Most consumer studies done in the recent past, including one from Agewell Foundation found that senior citizens are emerging as a significant consumer group with high spending powers, although healthcare constitutes 31% of their total spends. Today’s seniors are a far cry from senior citizens 30 years back. They are tech savvy, experimental, curious, adventurous, audacious with an appetite for consumer products in almost every category. And yes, they are romantic. More than you and I will give them credit for. So, by not wooing them, acknowledging them and most importantly, representing them, brands are doing themselves are a great disservice, strictly from a business point of view. And beyond business, authenticity and relatability lies in a diverse narrative. And a diverse narrative is very much about two greying heads sharing an ice cream, watching the sun go down. It’s what we desperately need to see more of.

Last year, around the time the lockdown was lifted across the country, an advertisement appeared on our TV sets. It begins with an elderly lady waiting for her family at a restaurant, presumably meeting them for the first time since the lockdown. And within seconds, they materialise: a young couple, a millennial sister of the husband, and an army of children, each one of them representing some of the medium’s favourite demographics. A commercial like this can go anywhere, making a lead of any of the cast of just-materialised characters to sell whatever product it wants. It does not pick them and sticks with the original elderly lady as her voiceover reflects on the difficult months that had gone by. (Perhaps more unusually, this reflection involves no banking or insurance product for the retired; this, after all, being a toothpaste ad for Colgate.) As her voiceover narrates the loneliness she experienced during the pandemic, an elderly man appears at the table, puts an arm around her, and as her baffled children look on, she raises her engagement ring by way of explanation. ‘Celebrate a new kind of freedom,’ the ad says. ‘Get started with a new smile.’ This wasn’t the only ad to feature a silver-haired protagonist. A spate of commercials released during the pandemic, and featuring some of the country’s biggest brands, has chosen to focus on this particular demography. Be that a group of old men, their masks on their chins, choosing to buy an ornament for their young caregiver (Tanishq); or an old woman chatting with her nurse over a messaging app during the lockdown (WhatsApp); or a nervous professor logging in for his first Zoom lesson (Vi)—each one of these representing an activity we rarely see seniors perform on a television commercial, from using a new technology to buying something expensive. At one level, this is understandable. The pandemic has affected the elderly more than any other group. And ad filmmakers would want to reflect such concerns. But at another level, this is entirely new. Although there have been occasional ads in recent times that have cast older people as protagonists, the advertising landscape for the longest period has refrained from featuring wrinkled faces unless to parrot an insurance ad or play cute in the background. The conventional wisdom being that India is a country of young consumers; the old, if they participate in the economy, do so in only limited ways. But the pandemic is making advertisers and businesses have a fresh look at this largely ignored demography. This trend has begun to pick up more steam in several foreign countries, with many of the top consumer goods launching new products just for the elderly or developing new verticals to target them. Several companies—from Nestlé, the Activia yogurt maker Danone SA, Colgate-Palmolive to IKEA—are doing so, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Nestlé in China has come out with a powdered milk drink that it claims enhances mobility during ageing; Colgate launched anti-ageing products, such as an amino acid toothpaste in China which it claims can reverse visible signs of gum-ageing; IKEA, elsewhere, has come out with furniture pieces for the elderly; Procter & Gamble has launched a razor intended for caregivers of those with ageing-related needs in Canada; and Danone has set up a new healthy-ageing unit and launched a whey protein product that claims to aid muscles, joints and bones. “We clearly see healthy ageing, even more now in the Covid world, as a huge trend,” Danone’s CEO Emmanuel Faber told the Wall Street Journal. In India, several startups and businesses have sprung up to target this segment. There are e-commerce sites for senior citizens, plush real estate projects for the old, apps that help them navigate the internet, specially designed products such as phones and music players, and several more. One such product is the hugely successful music player Carvaan (brought out by Saregama, which is owned by OPEN magazine’s parent company, the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group). To a millennial who listens to music through music-streaming apps such as Spotify or downloads them to his music player, the appeal of the product may seem baffling. But to the elderly segment, with its ease of design, harking back to an older time, and the thousands of tunes pre-loaded on it, much of these of an older vintage, the product has been immensely attractive.     Many of these businesses and products for the elderly had come up long before Covid arrived on Indian shores. But the pandemic, the founders say, has increased demand and expanded the scales of their businesses. Covid has brought with it insecurity and fear among the old, but it is also pushing them online and increasing their appetite for products and services for their wellness and comfort. MP Deepu, who along with Rahul Gupta, co-founded the Gurugram-based Senior World, a platform that comes out with products and travel services for the elderly, noticed an opportunity for such a business when he saw the struggle many of his elderly relatives went through. “If you just look around, you will notice that while so many things have emerged that make our lives so convenient, there’s been very little for the elderly,” he says. One of his company’s first forays has been in technology. They have come out with several iterations of a mobile phone for the elderly. Called Easyfone, this phone comes with features many large mobile phone-makers rarely consider for older users, from its large font sizes, well-spaced keypads, to the ability to amplify sounds and, in one version, even compatibility with those who use hearing aids. It even allows others, presumably a son or daughter, to set alarms and reminders and configure the phone remotely. According to Deepu, about two lakh individuals currently use the phone, and the company is now developing a smartphone version of it. Senior World also has a travel vertical where they organise domestic and international trips only for the elderly. “We don’t allow younger people to join, even those who want to accompany their older relatives. People don’t understand, older people want to do their own thing,” Deepu says. Trips with Senior World are organised differently, he says. The itineraries are more easy-paced, the hotels booked are elderly-friendly, buses play old music and carry ice boxes for items like insulin, and the tour guides who accompany the elderly are carefully selected. “There has been a lot of change among the elderly compared to the past. They are so full of life, they have their own lists, places they want to go to, things they want to do. They want to engage with the world on their own terms,” he says. The demography of senior citizens in India is rapidly changing. They are living longer and more fulfilling lives, many continue to work long past their retirement age and, just like their younger countrymen, have disposable income, which they are willing to spend on their comforts and wants.   India might have an attractive market featuring one of the world’s largest youth bases. But, as businesses have begun to realise, at least 6 per cent of this population is 65 years old and above. They are living longer—from a life expectancy at birth of 47 years in 1969, 60 years in 1994 to 69 years in 2019, according to the State of World Population 2019 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)—and the share of those aged 60 and above is expected to rise to nearly 20 per cent by 2050. And the market catering to such a population is also exceptionally under-served. Tapan Mishra, the founder of the startup Seniority, which runs an e-commerce site and a few offline stores for the elderly, points to a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) report that claims the medical and lifestyle market for the economically independent senior urban population stands at about Rs 43,000 crore. “The overall potential of the market driven by senior citizens is as large as Rs 1 lakh crore, excluding the real estate, BFSI [banking and financial services industry] and pharma products categories. Of this, only 10 per cent has been addressed so far, which implies that there is a tremendous scope for the elder care industry to grow and thrive,” he says. Mishra also believes there are prominent psychographic shifts that are going on in this segment. “Seniors are becoming more independent and conscious of their health and well-being. Today, they not only have greater disposable incomes, but also more willingness and savviness to spend on themselves, engage in hobbies, travel the world, and even fulfil their dreams,” he says. When the startup was first being conceived, Mishra claims they thought the business would have to work as an omnichannel platform, where there would be retail outlets and an online store. “However, we quickly realised that contrary to popular belief, seniors were quite comfortable shopping online and exploring solutions relevant for them. This gave us the confidence to convert to an online-first model,” he says. Mohit Nirula, the CEO of Columbia Pacific Communities, which develops and manages plush residential projects for senior citizens across India, also points to this change in the mindset of the old in India. “In the past there was this notion that once people retire, they set aside all their material possessions for their children. That has completely changed.” When the Sathiamurthys, a Chennai-based couple in their 50s first laid their eyes on a residential project for the elderly in Coimbatore built by the Columbia Pacific Communities group, they instantly fell in love with the place. “You can see the hills on one side, and there are trees everywhere, and you can go for long walks among them,” says Sujata Sathiamurthy. Although purchasing a home here involved a sizeable investment and they already owned a house in Chennai, the two, still in their 50s, decided to retire from their jobs (Sujata worked at ONGC and her husband worked as a financial consultant in Chennai), purchase a villa here and begin living in it. “We thought we should move [to a retirement home] at a time when we can still care for ourselves,” she says. When the pandemic broke out, they weren’t particularly perturbed, she says, but a sense of dread began when the newspapers stopped being delivered. The Sathiamurthys spent most of their time before the pandemic in an after-hours school for the underprivileged nearby. With that shut, they turned to an online course to learn Sanskrit.   “We had also been planning to do a trip to the Northeast [of India], with some of our friends joining us there. But then the lockdown happened. We are waiting for this [the pandemic] to end so that we can go for that trip,” she says. PP Kanthan, an 87-year-old former bureaucrat based in Bengaluru, began to look for a new home for himself and his wife Rajalakshmi a few years ago because the neighbourhood around his then house had become crowded. Several buildings and roads had come up nearby, pollution levels had gone up and traffic snarls were so frequent that it had become impossible to live there. The two, whose children live abroad, moved to a township built for the elderly (by the Columbia Pacific Communities group) on the outskirts of the city. “It was a wise decision,” Kanthan says. All their needs—from food to laundry—are taken care of, and they have built friendships with many other residents over long walks and the various games and activities in the club. Just a few weeks ago, his wife won a Scrabble tournament at the club. “These activities like the arts, dance or music are quite essential because they say things like depression and Alzheimer’s are kept at bay,” he says. “Besides, it makes life worthwhile.” Several real estate companies have begun to target this demography by building and managing homes for the elderly. These homes are designed in such a way as to be more elderly-friendly—from homes with large passageways that allow for wheelchair access and grab bars in bathrooms, to a concierge service, tie-ups with hospitals, a ready ambulance, along with large clubhouses for activities and games. Although the ownership of the house passes on to the next of kin because of the high costs of living in such an assisted place, most youths look to rent the place out to other seniors or to sell it. Nirula, the CEO of Columbia Pacific Communities, says that when the Seattle-based group first came to India two decades ago, it decided to invest in only the Columbia Asia chain of hospitals and not their senior homes, because it felt the market was not ready for such a concept. “But while culturally not much has changed, circumstances have changed drastically,” he says. “Old people stay alone now. It’s not because their children have fought with them. It’s because their children work in other cities or countries. In fact, they are happy for their children,” Nirula says. According to Nirula, the old idea of retirement homes being dismal places filled with bitter geriatrics has also transformed. “Seniors are more than happy to live in a place with like-minded people,” he says. Those who build such homes claim that since the pandemic—with the difficulties the lockdown brought upon old people who need support and assistance in their homes—enquiries and bookings into such assisted-homes have risen. “I run nine communities [across five cities] and for the first time, I now have a waiting list,” he says. The group is currently developing its tenth such project in Bengaluru, and plans to develop four more in Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata. But even as more businesses and products get launched that target this elder demography, and many seniors are more than willing to access them, challenges remain. The most prominent being the internet. Mumbai-based Aparna Thakker, an educational technology entrepreneur, noticed an opportunity here when she saw the struggle old people go through when going online. Her startup, Empowerji, looks to bridge this gap through a learning app that helps senior citizens navigate the online world, and another app, EJI, which helps older users perform online tasks like paying bills or shopping online through a simple chat interface. “There has been this big change for us [with the arrival of the internet]. It has brought so many opportunities and things to enjoy. But the old have missed out on these completely. That’s why we see old people standing in long queues to pay their electricity bills when there’s a much simpler online process,” she says. Like much of the rest of the country, the pandemic has also pushed the elderly to go online. Mishra of Seniority claims orders from their e-commerce site has skyrocketed. “More of them had resorted to online shopping in the earlier days of the nationwide lockdown because of the constraints related to stepping out of the house. And despite the lockdown easing all over the country now, the convenience has become a habit, converting them into permanent online shoppers,” he says. Although the pandemic has brought a lot of difficulties, especially for the elderly, it has also pushed many of them to get over their fear of technology. “In the early part of the lockdown, for our workshops, it would take hours for my team members to get seniors to just download and go by each step to set up a Zoom account,” she says. “Now everyone has it.”

aunches hashtag #LoveBeyondAge for Senior Citizens One is never too old to celebrate love. Holding steadfast to the belief, India’s largest senior living community operator, Columbia Pacific Communities launched a unique initiative #LoveBeyondAge, amplifying the voice of the elders on Valentine’s Day and dismissing age-old ideas of senior citizens being too old to find, express or enjoy romantic love.   Often Valentine’s Day is associated with the young, and love is marketed and celebrated as a young person’s thing. Meanwhile, seniors are deemed to have grown out of love and romance. Breaking such stereotypes, Columbia Pacific Communities released a vox pop video showcasing the perspectives of both seniors and millennials and their ideas about love, romance and celebrating the day of love. Speaking about the initiative, Piali Dasgupta, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Columbia Pacific Communities, said “We tend to have an ageist attitude towards love, almost adjudicating that one loses the ability to express and celebrate love as one grows older. These beliefs cannot be farther from the truth. The #LoveBeyondAge initiative beautifully shows how the expressions of love become stronger and more real as one ages. Seniors have lived a lifetime of love, conflict, and finding love again. In matters of true love, it is they who have a lesson or two more to teach the Gen Y and Z and therefore should not be excluded from the mainstream/pop culture depiction of love.” Society at large seems to have a cringe element associated with seniors displaying affection and eschew such narratives as much as possible. Even on celluloid, there’s rarely any story on elderly love. However, the vox-pop video proved that love has nothing to do with age and showed the most romantic and graceful expressions of love by seniors. It also featured elderly social media influencers sharing their views on love. Companionship, love, and togetherness continue to play an important role in the lives of seniors and love transcends the majorly materialistic and physical urges, while becoming more emotional, pure, sensual, and graceful amongst seniors. The core brand purpose of Columbia Pacific Communities is to popularize the concept of positive ageing and shatter all age-related stereotypes. Love is an important element of positive aging. The initiative does not just celebrate love amongst seniors but also demolishes false notions about seniors shying away from celebrating Valentine’s Day. This is not the first time Columbia Pacific Communities has encouraged the expression of love among seniors. Last year, the organization’s initiative ‘#ExpressionsOfLove’ on the occasion of Valentine’s Day saw a collaboration with Taj Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru for an elaborate, 100 dishes lunch for three couples to celebrate love in all its myriad forms and glory. This year with #LoveBeyondAge, Columbia Pacific Communities has raised a pertinent question on our comprehension and view of love and its expressions amongst seniors in our society.

Senior living communities are designed quite differently from residential condominium complexes. These are specifically meant to cater to the needs of the senior citizens, and therefore, certain important aspects should be kept in mind while designing a senior living community. Although recent revisions in the building codes have focused on assisted living, the continuum of senior housing is defined by a progression in the level of care provided. While designing the communities for seniors, individual needs, and physical capabilities should be taken into consideration. It follows that the entire community, in fact, each area should be designed in a manner that these are accessible and usable by all residents throughout their stay, irrespective of their age. Nowadays, senior citizens are embracing their retirement stage as a period when they are able to pursue their interests and passions. They wish to invest their time and energy in those pursuits. Positive ageing is an approach to life, and seniors today are more aspirational than the generations that preceded them. More people are reaching their age of retirement in better physical shape. They are financially sound and have a greater desire to remain independent. Senior living communities need to be designed, keeping all these expectations in mind. Thriving senior living communities must be vibrant and engaging to encourage social interaction. The design must incorporate ample public areas–both indoors and outdoors. This is to allow like-minded residents to meet and engage in activities of common interest. Almost 8–12 percent of the habitable space in a senior living community should be dedicated to such common areas. Also, senior living communities need to incorporate certain features that allow the service provider to deliver both hospitality and healthcare services. The residents of a senior living community are relaxed movers and have a rhythm to their day. This is very different from the service providers, who are younger and move at a more urgent pace. Community design should facilitate the movement of both these users in a manner that does not overlap or intersect. This is good for productivity and very important for the safety of all users. Keeping in mind that eyesight and hearing capabilities do atrophy with time, the design of the interiors and equipment specifications must allow for these changes. Lighting levels and fittings throughout the community should ensure shadow-free and uniform lighting. This assists with depth perception and prevents falls. Also, ceiling and wall treatments, especially in public spaces, should enhance some sound frequencies while absorbing other frequencies to provide optimal sound levels and quality. Another trend in senior living architecture is a design plan that makes the kitchen a central common area, as opposed to a standard visitation room. Just like a larger overall plan, the idea behind a communal kitchen is to promote user engagement. At last, it is not just how you develop your senior living facility, but also the location in which you choose to build it. In the past few years, there has been an increase in the demand for senior homes in urbanised central locations. This kind of environment makes the inhabitants feel less isolated and more independent.

“This is a well-balanced, progressive, and revolutionary Budget focused on growth and welfare. It will act towards the restoration of normalcy to the movement of people and their livelihood activities,” said Murali Malayappan, Chairman and Managing Director, Shriram Properties Ltd. So, how does this Budget impact the real estate industry? More importantly, how does it help prospective homebuyers, investors, senior citizens, and NRIs? We asked the experts to help us decode the Budget. For NRIs What FM said: “When Non-Resident Indians return to India, they have issues with respect to their accrued incomes in their foreign retirement accounts. This is usually due to a mismatch in taxation periods. They also face difficulties in getting credit for Indian taxes in foreign jurisdictions. I propose to notify rules for removing their hardship of double taxation.” What it means: The announcement seeks to remove double taxation for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) on income accrued through foreign retirement benefits accounts. The tax department will notify rules to remove hardships of double taxation faced by NRIs. What is double taxation? As the name suggests, NRIs are taxed on the same income twice, both in India and the country of residence. In India, they are taxed on income earned or accrued within India. How the industry reacted? Welcoming the move, Sanjay Dutt, MD & CEO, Tata Realty and Infrastructure Limited said, “Acknowledging the role of NRIs, the government’s decision to remove double taxation will improve the overall sentiments significantly.” Reiterating the same, Rohit Poddar, Managing Director, Poddar Housing and Development Ltd. said, “Giving relief to NRIs from double taxation will give a sentiment boost to the real estate sector.” For senior citizens What FM said: “In the 75th year of Independence of our country, we shall reduce the compliance burden on senior citizens. For senior citizens who only have a pension and interest income, I propose exemption of filing of income tax returns.” What it means: Well, the senior citizens above 75 years with only pension income have now been exempted from filing the Income Tax returns. How the industry reacted? “Senior citizens constitute 9% of the population. This number will progressively increase to be 20% by 2050. Our seniors are currently battling high inflation, dropping interest rates on savings, increasing medical expenses, and the second-highest GST slab rates on in-home services. I am not sure if relief from filing returns on income tax is adequate recognition for a lifetime of service to the nation,” said Mohit Nirula, CEO, Columbia Pacific Communities. Also Read: Union Budget 2021-22: Infrastructure Receives the Lion’s Share For homebuyers  What FM said: “For realisation of the goal of ‘Housing for All’ and affordable housing, in the last budget I had announced an additional deduction of up to Rs 1,50,000 for interest paid on loans taken for purchase of an affordable house. The deduction was allowed on housing loans sanctioned on or before 31st March, 2020. In order to ensure that more persons avail this benefit, I propose to extend the date of loan sanction for availing this additional deduction by one more year. “Further, in order to boost the supply of affordable houses in the country, a tax holiday is provided on the profits earned by developers of affordable housing project approved by 31st March, 2020. In order to promote the affordable housing projects, I propose to extend the date of approval of affordable housing projects for availing this tax holiday by one more year.” What it means: The period to avail additional tax benefits of Rs 1.5 lakh for interest paid on home loan for the purchase of an affordable house has been extended till March 31, 2022. This benefit is over and above the tax advantage of Rs 2 Lakh available under Section 24 (B) of the Income Tax Act. Further, to keep up the supply of affordable housing, the finance minister proposed that affordable housing projects can avail a tax holiday for another year till March 31, 2022. How the industry reacted? “Extending the tax holiday for another year till March 31, 2022, for affordable housing projects is a positive step in achieving the government’s objective of Housing for all by 2022. Additionally, providing a deduction for the interest of Rs 1.5 Lakh paid for the loan taken for the purchase of an affordable house to March 31, 2022, will motivate homebuyers to purchase their dream home as they will be able to repay their loans much faster thereby speeding up the residential sales. We welcome these incentives as it will boost the demand and supply in the affordable housing segment,” said Nishant Deshmukh, Managing Director of Sugee Group. For investors  Budget 2021 also proposed to make a dividend payment to REITs and InvITs exempt from tax deducted at source (TDS). REITs and InvITs are vehicles that allow developers to monetize revenue-generating real estate and infrastructure assets. Welcoming the move, Anshuman Magazine, Co-Chairman, CII National Committee on Real Estate & Housing and Chairman and CEO – India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE said, “Proposing to make dividend payments to REIT and Infrastructure investment trusts exempt from TDS this year is another great move as it will help address the liquidity situation in the real estate industry.” Major misses  Although several proposals were announced for the benefit of taxpayers, there was no change in income tax slab rates. “Disposable income is a substantial constraint on demand so personal tax relief must be addressed by revisiting the tax slabs and also increasing the deduction limit under Section 80C. Such benefits will provide crucial support to the real estate sector,” said Rakesh Reddy, Director, Aparna Constructions & Estates. Echoing similar views, Surendra Hiranandani, Chairman and Managing Director, House of Hiranandani said, “The government could have given a further boost to real estate with few additional reforms. There have been many pressing concerns in the sector that have not been addressed such as easing liquidity, reduction in levies/taxes, tax deductions on home loans to give impetus to buyer sentiment, granting of industry status to the overall real estate sector, implementation of single window clearance, amongst others.”  

Columbia Pacific Communities’ Piali Dasgupta pens down senior care marketing trends that brands should take note for possible collaborations in 2021. Senior care as an industry has seen a tipping point in 2020. With senior citizens being the worst affected demographic in the pandemic, and the feelings of isolation, loneliness, anxiety, uncertainty and helplessness engulfing them, this demographic has realised the need and the importance of compassionate, round-the-clock care and comfort. This, in turn, has spurt the demand for senior living communities in the country, and also senior care products and services on the whole. 2021, from the senior care perspective, will be a year of growth and opportunities. With that as context, the following will be the top trends in senior care marketing in 2021. Celebrating Seniors From straight jacket narratives on products and services, the focus would shift to the user demographic, ie, senior citizens. It would be about their attitudes, behaviour patterns, cultural references, nostalgia and all that make up their universe. At Columbia Pacific Communities, time and again, we have shone the spotlight on our senior residents. Be it our recent Christmas campaign where our senior residents came together to enact Jingle Bells for the deaf and mute community using sign language or video campaign, “Community Beats Uncertainty”, where three of our senior residents lent their voices to the video. Retirement communities in the USA such as Brookdale and Holiday Senior Living do an enviable job of celebrating their residents’ lives on social media. Senior care brands would focus their content marketing efforts on UGC and testimonials, given that these are important tools to build authenticity as well bring the focus back on those that the industry has the privilege of serving. Collaboration & Partnerships Senior care is an emerging industry with a large number of start-ups who have identified the opportunity in the category, given that 8% of the country’s population are senior citizens and they are hungry to serve this market. 2021 will see a lot of brand partnerships and collaborations in this space, in a bid to build symbiotic relationships, save or stretch marketing dollars, reach out to the specific target groups without spending on mass marketing and ultimately to create value for customers. Influencer Marketing Traditionally, senior care as a category has not really invested in celebrity partnerships or influencer marketing. However, with a large number of senior social media influencers such as Chinna Dua, whose impeccable style and gorgeous sarees have been winning the internet, or Poonam Sapra (@motherwithasign) whose pearls of wisdom has countless fans, brands would come forward to partner with them in order to reach out to their target audience. The trend has already started in a small way with senior living operators such as Antara roping in celebrities such as Sadhguru and Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi (for their events) and Athashri collaborating with Sunil Gavaskar. Technology as a Key Enabler It’s largely a misconception that senior citizens are averse to technology. Today’s seniors are well versed with technology, use social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, access email and WhatsApp regularly. Senior care brands, including senior living operators have leaned on technology massively to drive sales – whether it is virtual site visits and walk throughs, online booking or even using features such as WhatsApp calls to help seniors make a purchase decision remotely. Brands such as Seniority have even made medical care a lot more accessible for seniors. In March 2020, Seniority partnered with DocsApp, a digital healthcare platform, to create an online portal offering 24/7 healthcare support for seniors, where they could consult doctors, consume content in the form of blogs, articles and webinars to keep themselves abreast of corona virus related news and finings. If medical experts are to be believed, it will take a year for the vaccine to be available to all. And hence, technology will continue to be a very important enabler in the customer lifecycle, bringing senior customers closer to purveyors, one video call at a time. This piece has been authored by Piali Dasgupta, Senior Vice President – Marketing, Columbia Pacific Communities.

Look at their revenues which are now fixed post retirement and see what can be done to help with bank interests, so that seniors get and remain ahead of the inflation curve through the deposits and saving that they have made. It is only fair that in the golden years of their life, we be able to support them. Shahid Akhter, editor, ETHealthworld spoke to Mohit Nirula, CEO, Columbia Pacific Communities, to know about his expectations from the budget that would have positive impact on the life of senior citizens who have spent thei r entire live paying taxes. Budget Expectations The Budget post covid and post the impact of covid on the economy needs to be substantially different from the ones that we have seen in the past. The covid pandemic was one which affected the economy not just on the supply side but on the demand side. And I know, that the government has done a lot with regards to stimulating the economy but what would be really nice if the budget for 2021 – 22 were to focus on stimulating demand because once the population of a country, as large and populous as ours, starts to spend. It has a positive knock on effect all the way through the economy and the general mood. So that is the one expectation that I would expect to be remarkable, be different from previous budgets, which is to a focus on stimulating demand. Wish list As Columbia Pacific Communities who has the privilege of serving over 3000 seniors in our 9 communities. Our request to the government would be to really assist and support our residents and so many seniors in the country on three aspects: Look at their revenues which are now fixed post retirement and see what can be done to help with bank interests, so that seniors get and remain ahead of the inflation curve through the deposits and saving that they have made. On the expenses side we would like the government to consider services provided to seniors in communities designed specifically for them should be exempt of GST. They have spent their entire life paying taxes. It is only fair that in the golden years of their life, we be able to support them. Any step that the government can take to reform banking laws that allow for better returns on reverse mortgage, would go a long way in ensuring that seniors can enjoy and take benefit of the assets that they have created over life.

While the outburst of COVID-19 has had its repercussions on practically all areas of human existence, the pandemic specifically highlighted the need to provide a permanent solution to the day-to-day issues faced by our seniors. As India looks forwards to unlock the senior care market, measures to promote senior living and wellbeing have positively impacted the demand and growth of the segment. Mr. Mohit Nirula, CEO of Columbia Pacific Communities, in discussion with ASLI and Unmukt, mentioned that, “The current scenario creates ideal opportunities for all relevant stakeholders of the industry to assess and deliberate on the challenges, solutions and future roadmap for senior care and living in India. The 3rd ASLI Annual Senior Care Conclave, organized by Association of Senior Living India (ASLI) in partnership with Unmukt – The Senior Hub, to be held virtually from January 22-24, 2021 is the right platform in this direction.’ Nirula further elaborates that during the COVID-19 lockdown, Columbia Pacific Communities saw a spike in customer queries with a a long waiting list of people who wants to get into senior living communities. “We have waiting lists for nine communities with future residents waiting to get accommodation that they can rent or purchase on resale. Another facility – The Virtuoso Club in Bangalore, is experiencing unprecedented demand. Sales, since September have exceeded. Organic traffic on website has grown four-fold since the pandemic.” With ‘Reimagining the Senior Care Landscape’ as the theme, the three-day conclave aims to facilitate discussion and exchange of ideas on key areas that impact senior care through thoughtfully curated sessions and panel discussions. The virtual conclave will witness participation from distinguished Government dignitaries, eminent speakers and industry experts. Register to 3rd ASLI Annual Senior Care Conclave – http://www.asli.org.in/3rd-asli-annual-senior-care-conclave/ About Columbia Pacific Communities Columbia Pacific Communities (CPC) is India’s largest and most experienced senior living community operator with close to 1600 residential units under management in 5 cities and 9 locations across south India. As the pioneers in this category it is committed to reimagining the concept of senior living in India and create world-class practices that exceed these expectations of all our stakeholders. It is part of the Columbia Pacific group, one of the foremost developers of senior living communities in the United States, Canada and South East Asia. Founded by Dan Baty, Columbia Pacific has more than 40 years of experience and expertise in designing, building and managing senior housing communities around the world. The team, with the expertise of their principals in the United States of America and our partners in India, brings together rich experience in senior housing design, development and management.  

Columbia Pacific Management is the largest developer of senior housing in the United States. It is involved in senior care business for 45 years across the US, UK, and France. Due to the rapidly changing cultural relationship between parents and children, India offers a huge opportunity for senior care/living. Read on for excerpts of the interview. 1. How are you planning on reinventing senior care in India? Nothing would give us at Columbia Pacific Communities greater pleasure than changing the wholly undeserved perception of senior living communities being a solution for people who have “no option” to being the “preferred solution” for seniors living alone in mixed-family communities or in their homes. 2. Sensing the opportunity in the senior living market, many real estate developers in India investing in Retirement homes. What sets you apart from the competitors? Senior living communities are an interesting amalgam of real estate, hospitality and healthcare.  Columbia Pacific Communities with its promoters’ four-decade-long legacy in senior living, the hospitality-rich experience of the team in India and healthcare partners Columbia Asia Hospitals is the only complete solution provider in the country. 3. When it comes to the senior living sector, what challenges did you face in 2020 and how did you overcome those? COVID-19 was the single biggest challenge for Columbia Pacific Communities and our 3,000 residents.  Our success in being able to ringfence our communities from the virus and the external environment was a consequence of the efforts of our wonderful ground operations team members, the support of the Resident Committees and the cooperation of our residents. 4. How did technology help with the challenges created due to the pandemic in 2020? Technology-enabled communication allowed us to keep residents updated with medical protocols and protected from the large amounts of misinformation and disinformation that circulated during the early months of the pandemic. Equally, digital video interactions kept residents connected with friends and family besides remaining engaged in community activities thereby ensuring that physical distancing did not result in loneliness. Social media features such as Facebook Live helped us create engagement programmes that kept seniors meaningfully engaged. And technology platforms even helped us create a 100% digital talent hunt across our 9 communities during the pandemic. 5. While constructing senior living communities, what are the important things you keep in mind? From a design perspective, it is very important that residents are able to access, use and enjoy all parts of the community throughout their stay – irrespective of the impact of advancing years on their mobility. Furthermore, public spaces of a senior living community should be spacious and designed to ensure and encourage social engagement with residents being able to pursue their individual and common interests. 6. In a country like India, where the concept of a joint family still exists, how do you see the demand of senior living homes in the next 5 years? High levels of education and increased career opportunities are taking children away from their parent’s home cities.  Also, increasing life expectancy, better medical care means people are living longer and healthier lives.  The current gap between demand (200,000 homes) in urban India and supply (20,000 homes) is only expected to grow. 7. Right now, you have branches in Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Puducherry & Kanchipuram. Which other cities are you planning to expand in India in 2021? We would start construction on new projects in the cities of Pune, Chennai and Bengaluru in 2021 – 22. 8. Please tell us about your upcoming projects and plans in 2021. Our next project in Bangalore, from the Joint Venture we have with Embassy Properties, is located in the 200 acres integrated township – Embassy Edge and is currently under design. Also, in an advanced design stage is the project located in the south of Pune with Nyati Group, our joint venture partner in Maharashtra. The third project will be a Columbia Pacific development in Chennai. 9. Please summarise your 2020 with the help of 5 sets of numbers (in terms of growth, statistics, team etc). One project launched, two joint ventures inked, three times increase in sales velocity, four times increase in organic traffic to our award-winning website and infinite blessings from our residents and their families.