India is witnessing one of the most rapid demographic changes in its history, reshaping the very fabric of society. As the senior population grows, the focus must shift from numbers to a more fundamental question — how can we create systems and communities where older adults thrive with dignity, independence, and a sense of purpose?
Few leaders understand this challenge as deeply as Mr. Rajit Mehta, Managing Director & CEO of Antara Senior Care, who has dedicated his career to building people-centric organizations. Having previously helmed Max Healthcare and played a transformative role in Max Life Insurance, Mr. Mehta now leads Antara 2.0, a rejuvenation strategy aimed at reimagining senior care in India. Under his stewardship, Antara is expanding its ecosystem to offer everything from independent living communities to assisted care services and tech-enabled health solutions, all designed to empower seniors to live healthier, more connected lives.
In this conversation with TheCSRUniverse, Mr. Mehta shares his perspective on the societal and demographic shifts shaping elder care, the unique philosophy driving Antara’s integrated model, and how technology and compassion are coming together to redefine aging in India.
Read the full interview below.
Q&A
Q. What are the major demographic and societal shifts in India that are driving the demand for senior care services?
A. India is undergoing a profound demographic transition, with its senior population expected to more than double — from 156.7 million in 2024 to 346 million by 2050 — making it the second-largest elderly population globally. This rapid aging of the population is reshaping the social and economic fabric of the country and creating an urgent need for comprehensive senior care solutions.
One of the most notable shifts is the transition from traditional old-age homes to integrated senior living communities. Today’s seniors are not just looking for care — they are seeking environments that offer healthcare, wellness, and lifestyle services that enable independence and dignity. This demand is being further fuelled by urbanization and the breakdown of joint family structures, leading to an increase in nuclear families and adult children living away from their parents, often abroad.
At the same time, socio-economic progress has given rise to a generation of seniors who are financially more independent, well-informed, and aspirational. They expect modern amenities, social engagement, personalized wellness programs, and tech-enabled safety and convenience — all of which are increasingly being built into senior living ecosystems.
The emergence of technology-driven solutions is another key enabler. From remote health monitoring to emergency response systems, innovation is playing a critical role in improving the quality of life and enhancing the ability of seniors to live independently and safely.
Together, these demographic and societal changes are driving a fivefold projected growth in the senior living market — from USD 2–3 billion in 2024 to approximately USD 12 billion by 2030 — and signalling a fundamental shift in how India must reimagine aging and elder care in the decades ahead.
Q. Antara is described as an integrated senior care platform. Can you briefly explain its key service verticals and how they work together to deliver a seamless continuum of care?
A. Antara operates as a comprehensive, integrated senior care platform, designed to meet the evolving needs of India’s aging population. Our business model spans across independent living, assisted care services, and senior-focused retail solutions, offering a seamless continuum of care and support.
Our core offerings include:
Independent Senior Living Communities: These are fully serviced residences for active seniors who value independence, comfort, and community. Designed with a hospitality-first approach, they offer 24/7 medical support, curated wellness programs, and lifestyle services that enable dignified and purposeful living. In addition to our standalone senior living communities, we are also developing intergenerational senior living towers within Max Estates' integrated communities. These are specialized residential towers created exclusively for seniors, offering all the benefits of age-friendly infrastructure and care access, while keeping them meaningfully connected to younger family members and a vibrant, multi-generational environment.
Assisted Care Services: Includes Memory Care Homes, Care Homes, and Care at Home. Care Homes serve seniors who need short- or long-term medical support — such as recovery after surgery or temporary stays. Memory Care Homes provide specialized care for seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s, delivered in secure and supportive environments by trained professionals. Care at Home brings our expertise into the home with nursing, physiotherapy, diagnostics, and equipment rentals — enabling safe, personalized care for seniors who prefer to age in place.
AGEasy: To further support seniors in managing their health independently, we offer AGEasy — a curated range of self-care and chronic condition management products. These include senior-friendly medical devices, daily health aids, and wellness essentials, empowering them to take control of their well-being with confidence and convenience.
What makes Antara unique is our integrated and personalized approach, where each vertical supports and strengthens the other. Whether a senior transitions from independent living to needing assisted care, or from in-home services to a care facility, our platform ensures continuity, trust, and support every step of the way.
Q. What differentiates Antara Senior Care from other players in the elder care or senior living space in India?
A. Integrated care: Antara offers a continuum of care that includes everything from independent living communities to specialized care homes, memory care facilities, and care at home services. Whether a senior needs active living, short-term recovery, or long-term medical care, Antara provides seamless transitions between services, ensuring a consistent and personalized experience for the individual and their family.
Intergenerational communities at Max Estates: A unique feature of Antara’s offerings is our intergenerational senior living towers within Max Estates. These specialized facilities are designed to provide seniors with a multi-generational living experience, fostering connections between seniors and younger family members within an integrated community. This promotes both independence and a strong sense of belonging, helping seniors stay connected to family while enjoying senior-friendly infrastructure and services.
AGEasy – empowering seniors to manage their health: Antara is one of the first in the industry to offer AGEasy, a curated range of self-care products and chronic condition management solutions. These easy-to-use medical devices, wellness aids, and health products are designed specifically for senior needs, allowing seniors to take charge of their own well-being and manage their health independently. AGEasy represents our commitment to empowering seniors to live with confidence and convenience, regardless of where they are on their aging journey.
Technology-driven solutions for personalized care: We leverage advanced technology to ensure that every aspect of care is personalized and efficient. From health monitoring systems to emergency response solutions, technology plays a crucial role in enhancing the safety, comfort, and quality of life for our residents. Our tech-enabled approach allows us to provide real-time health tracking and ensure that seniors have access to immediate support when needed.
End-to-end support for families: Antara goes beyond just providing care for seniors — we actively involve families in the care process. With dedicated caregiver support and transparent communication, we ensure families are updated and involved at every stage. Our home care services further extend this support, offering medical care and assistance right in the comfort of the senior’s home, making it easier for families to provide the best possible care.
Q. What role does technology play in Antara’s day-to-day operations and care delivery?
A. Real time health monitoring and emergency response: Our care delivery model is anchored in real-time health tracking, chronic condition management, and prompt emergency response. Vital signs and wellness indicators are continuously monitored, enabling early intervention and proactive care — especially critical in post-operative and memory care settings.
Smart infrastructure and resident safety: Residences are equipped with sensor-based systems, anti-skid flooring, and IoT-enabled safety features. We’ve also implemented geo-fencing and real-time location tracking, which enhance resident security without compromising their autonomy. For instance, if a resident hasn’t been seen for 24 hours, a physical wellness check is automatically triggered to ensure their safety.
The Antara Adda App – community and connectivity: Our proprietary Adda app is a cornerstone of community engagement and service coordination. It’s used to send personalized messages for onboarding new residents, celebrating birthdays, and announcing group activities; Manage engineering and facility services, submit requests, and track resolutions in real-time; Facilitate community bonding and communication — from milestone celebrations to group discussions — enhancing the ‘Antara way of life’.
Visitor management with a personal touch: Through geo-fencing and digital visitor logs, residents can pre-authorize family and friends to visit, even when they’re not home. This signature Antara personal touch ensures safety without making social connections cumbersome — a crucial aspect of emotional well-being for seniors.
Seamless onboarding through the ready services team: Antara’s Ready Services Team helps new residents transition smoothly — from physical move-in logistics to emotional acclimatization. Their onboarding includes introductions via the Adda app, community walk-throughs, and integration into social circles. This model is being scaled across regions to ensure a uniform and welcoming Antara experience, no matter the location.
Tech-enabled home and assisted care: From Care at Home to Care Homes and Memory Care, our services are supported by digital care records, remote monitoring tools, and caregiver coordination platforms. This ensures continuity of care whether a senior is recovering at home or staying temporarily in one of our facilities.
AI and smart technologies are significantly shaping the future of senior care by making it more proactive, personalized, and convenient. Predictive analytics tools are being developed to enable early detection of potential health issues, allowing caregivers and medical teams to intervene before conditions escalate. AI-driven monitoring systems are helping personalize care plans by analyzing individual health patterns and needs in real time.
Additionally, the integration of smart home technologies — such as sensor-based lighting, fall detection systems, and voice-activated devices — is enhancing both safety and everyday convenience, empowering seniors to live more independently with greater peace of mind.
Q. Antara offers multiple senior care services under one umbrella. How do you ensure that your business model remains both financially sustainable and accessible to seniors across different economic backgrounds?
A. Antara’s model is built around a continuum-of-care approach that integrates multiple service lines, allowing us to remain financially sustainable while addressing the diverse needs of India’s aging population.
Senior living forms a significant part of the model, especially through the sale and lease of premium residential units. These lifestyle-first communities offer safety, social engagement, and healthcare integration. Pricing varies depending on location, configuration, and amenities. Our own residences are positioned at the premium end of the spectrum, offering specialized infrastructure, wellness, and care services.
Alongside this, our Care at Home, Care Homes, and Memory Care Homes provide flexible elder care options — from nursing and physiotherapy to lab diagnostics at a senior’s doorstep — ensuring recurring revenue while meeting the growing need for both aging-in-place and care facility support. AGEasy, our curated product platform, further empowers independent aging through senior-friendly medical devices and daily health aids, adding another layer of sustainability to the model.
Alongside this, our Care at Home, Care Homes, and Memory Care Homes provide flexible elder care options — from nursing and physiotherapy to lab diagnostics at a senior’s doorstep — ensuring recurring revenue while meeting the growing need for both aging-in-place and care facility support. AGEasy, our curated product platform, further empowers independent aging through senior-friendly medical devices and daily health aids, adding another layer of sustainability to the model.
Crucially, we are focused on increasing accessibility. We are exploring financing models such as reverse mortgages, annuity-based plans, and insurance partnerships that reduce upfront financial burden and make senior living viable for a broader demographic. For residents facing financial challenges, we offer flexible care plans, subsidized services, and financial counseling. Partnerships with NGOs, government programs like Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana (AVYAY), and public initiatives ensure that no senior is left behind, regardless of their economic circumstances.
Q. What strategies do you employ to ensure resident satisfaction?
A. At Antara, resident satisfaction is at the heart of everything we do — and we approach it with a blend of personalization, proactive care, real-time feedback, and emotional connect to deliver what we call ‘Apno Jaisi Care’.
Personalized living experience: Every element of a resident’s daily life is customized to their preferences — whether it’s the food they eat, the way their home is arranged, or how services are delivered. Our F&B teams not only cater to dietary restrictions like allergies and chronic conditions but also personalize meals based on taste and preferred cooking styles. Housekeeping staff ensure that every item in a residence — from furniture placement to personal objects — is maintained exactly as the resident prefers. Small but meaningful details, like remembering a preference for warm water or the size of cutlery, make a significant difference to their sense of comfort and belonging.
Real-time and structured feedback mechanisms: We conduct RSAT (Resident Satisfaction) surveys twice a year to formally capture resident feedback, and we are proud to have maintained an average RSAT score of 88% since 2018. In addition to formal surveys, we have QR codes placed across the community to gather daily feedback easily, alongside encouraging verbal feedback through regular interactions.
Curated engagement programs: A weekly engagement calendar is carefully curated based on resident feedback, covering cultural events, recreational activities, wellness programs, and group sessions. We make sure these activities are meaningful, inclusive, and aligned with the interests and preferences of the community.
Emergency response and health support: Safety is paramount at Antara — SOS and panic buttons are installed in all residences and common areas like bathrooms, with an average response time of under two minutes across our expansive 14-acre communities. We have in-residence doctors, regular health checks for all residents, and daily monitoring for those with critical conditions. Our trained GDAs (General Duty Assistants) are available to accompany residents to hospitals if needed, ensuring integrated lifecare support, including end-of-life services when required.
Q. What’s Antara’s future roadmap for the next 3–5 years?
A. Over the next 3 to 5 years, Antara’s growth strategy is anchored in:
Geographic expansion: We are actively working to expand our footprint beyond NCR and Dehradun into new high-demand urban centers, such as Bengaluru, Pune, and select Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. The goal is to create a hub-and-spoke model, where full-service communities are complemented by assisted care and home care solutions, offering seamless transitions across geographies.
New senior living models: Building on the success of our standalone communities, we are developing intergenerational senior living facilities in collaboration with Max Estates. These will be specialized senior towers within integrated townships, allowing seniors to stay connected with multi-generational families while having access to age-friendly infrastructure, wellness programs, and healthcare.
Scaling assisted care and care at home health services: We are aggressively expanding Care at Home, Care Homes, and Memory Care services across multiple cities to meet the growing demand for flexible, medically integrated elder care. These services allow us to support seniors who may not want or need to move into a residential community but still require structured medical and personal care.
Strengthening the AGEasy platform: AGEasy, our curated senior care product platform, will be expanded significantly — offering wider product categories, teleconsultation options, and subscription models for chronic condition management and wellness services. This supports independent aging while creating a pan-India digital revenue stream.
Strategic partnerships and collaborations: We are exploring partnerships with healthcare providers, insurance companies, and technology platforms to enhance service quality, financing options, and healthcare access for seniors. These collaborations will allow us to offer integrated insurance-backed health packages and innovate financing models like reverse mortgages and annuity-based payment plans to make senior living more accessible.
Investment in technology and digitalization: A key part of our growth plan is investing in smart technology — from real-time health monitoring, geo-fencing, and emergency response systems to digital engagement platforms like Antara Adda for resident communication, onboarding, and community management. This ensures scalability without compromising the ‘Apno Jaisi Care’ personalized experience that Antara is known for.
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