SHATAYU (Senior Holistic Care Assistance and Training for Your Utility) is a digital initiative of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment under the Ministry of Social Justice And Empowerment. Launched on 22 May 2026, SHATAYU has been developed as a centralised national Geriatric Caregiver Dashboard and Directory. The platform seeks to bridge the gap between professionally trained geriatric caregivers and senior citizens, their families and institutions requiring specialised elderly care services. Need for the initiative India's elderly population is steadily increasing and the need for a structured, skilled and accessible geriatric care workforce is becoming increasingly important. SHATAYU represents an important step towards addressing this requirement by bringing together trained caregivers, families and institutions through a common digital platform. By facilitating access to caregiving professionals while creating organised employment pathways for skilled individuals, the initiative seeks to strengthen India's care economy and promote a more inclusive, accessible and responsive support system for senior citizens. Overview of the application SHATAYU portal features caregivers in its national directory, providing a digital database of caregiving professionals across States and Union Territories. Through this directory, individuals and families can search for caregivers based on geographical location, including State/UT and district, making it easier to identify locally available caregiving support, he said. To promote transparency and accountability, SHATAYU incorporates digital facilities such as OTP-based verification for callback requests, caregiver profile access, enrolment tracking and a feedback and rating mechanism. These features facilitate communication between caregivers and service seekers and provide an avenue for users to share their experience of caregiving services. The platform also offers a convenient “Request Callback” facility for individuals seeking assistance in engaging a caregiver. The users can select their preferred State/UT and district, specify the type of care required and submit their contact details through an OTP-based verification process. The request is subsequently made available to caregivers in the selected district, facilitating direct communication between service seekers and caregiving professionals, the Official said. The facility caters to both full-time and hourly caregiving requirements, while searching the directory and placing callback requests are available free of charge. Geriatric Caregiver Enrollment Eligible professionals to enrol themselves by submitting their personal details, address information, course qualifications and training certificates. Applicants can also track their enrolment status through the dashboard, he said adding that following the review and approval of applications, eligible caregiver profiles are listed on the platform, enabling prospective employers and families to connect with them. The SHATAYU portal can be accessed at https://shatayu.dosje.gov.in/