🤝 Welfare & ration

Get a disability certificate and UDID card

The Unique Disability ID (UDID) system issues a nationally valid disability certificate and UDID card, used for disability pensions, concessions, reservations, assistive devices and more.

Apply for a ration card or use it anywhere in India

Ration cards are issued by state food and civil supplies departments. NFSA cards (Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Priority Household) give free foodgrains, and One Nation One Ration Card lets you draw rations at any fair price shop in India.

Get a caste, income or domicile (residence) certificate

These certificates are issued by state revenue authorities (Tahsildar/SDM/District Magistrate) and are needed for reservations, scholarships, fee concessions and welfare schemes. Most states offer online applications through their e-district or citizen service portals, and many certificates can be fetched in DigiLocker.

Submit your pensioner's life certificate (Jeevan Pramaan)

Pensioners must submit a life certificate every year (usually in November; from October for pensioners aged 80+) to keep receiving their pension. The Digital Life Certificate (Jeevan Pramaan) can be submitted from home using Aadhaar face authentication on a smartphone.

Benefits and services for senior citizens

There is no single national 'senior citizen card'; several states and districts issue their own senior citizen ID cards. Key central benefits include free health cover for everyone aged 70+, old age pension for BPL seniors, safe savings schemes, assistive devices and a national elder helpline.

PM-KMY

A voluntary, contributory pension scheme for small and marginal farmers. The government matches the farmer's monthly contribution.

PM-JAY

Government-funded health assurance for poor and vulnerable families, giving cashless hospital treatment at empanelled public and private hospitals across India.

Ayushman Vay Vandana

Extends PM-JAY to every Indian aged 70 or above, whatever their income, through a separate Ayushman Vay Vandana card.

PMAY-G

Financial help for houseless rural families and those living in kutcha or dilapidated houses to build a pucca house with basic amenities.

PM Ujjwala

Deposit-free LPG connections for adult women from poor households, so families can switch from firewood and other polluting fuels to clean cooking gas.

SBM-G IHHL

Incentive for eligible rural households without a toilet to build one, under Phase II of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin).

APY

A government-backed pension scheme, mainly for workers in the unorganised sector, administered by PFRDA through banks and post offices.

NSAP

Central pensions and family benefit for BPL households: old age pension (IGNOAPS), widow pension (IGNWPS), disability pension (IGNDPS) and a one-time National Family Benefit (NFBS) on the death of the breadwinner. States add their own top-ups.

PMGKAY

Free foodgrains for about 81 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act, extended for five years from 1 January 2024.

VB-G RAM G

The statutory rural employment guarantee. From 1 July 2026, the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Ongoing works carried over, and old job cards are being replaced by new Gramin Rozgar Guarantee cards.

e-Shram

Free national registration for unorganised workers, including gig and platform workers. Registered workers get an e-Shram card (UAN) and a single window to social security and welfare schemes.

PM-SYM

A voluntary, contributory pension scheme for unorganised workers. The government matches the worker's monthly contribution.

DAY-NRLM

Organises rural poor women into self-help groups (SHGs) and federations, giving them access to credit, livelihoods support and enterprise development. The Lakhpati Didi initiative is part of this mission.

Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste Students

Financial assistance for SC students studying at the post-matric or post-secondary stage (Class 11 onwards, including professional courses). It is administered by state governments and funded jointly by the Centre and states.

PM-YASASVI

An umbrella of scholarships for OBC, Economically Backward Class (EBC) and De-notified Tribe (DNT) students: pre-matric, post-matric, and top-class school and college education.

One Stop Centre

Integrated support for women affected by violence (domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, acid attack and so on), in public or private spaces, through One Stop Centres in every district and the 24×7 Women Helpline 181.

ADIP

Free or subsidised modern assistive devices (tricycles, wheelchairs, hearing aids, artificial limbs, smart canes and so on) for persons with disabilities, distributed through camps and implementing agencies such as ALIMCO.

UDID

A single national database of persons with disabilities that issues an online disability certificate and a UDID card valid across India, for use with schemes and concessions.