A Senior Citizen ID Card is a document that verifies an individual is a senior citizen, that is over the age of 60. It is similar to a school, college, or professional ID card in the sense that it also contains information like a person’s age, blood group and emergency contact number.
How to apply for a Senior Citizen ID card?
Before applying for a Senior Citizen ID card, it is important to check whether or not you are eligible for it. The eligibility criteria for the Senior Citizen ID card is as follows:
- You must have some documentation that verifies your age.
- Produce proof of address, such as Ration Card, Election Card, and so on.
If you fulfil these criterion, follow the steps mentioned below to apply for a Senior Citizen ID card:
- Visit the official website of the state or Union Territory (UT) you live in.
- Register yourself on the website by providing a few basic details.
- Download and fill the application form available on the website.
- Submit the application form, along with two photographs and the required documents.
- Once you’ve done that, your application will be scrutinised for any inconsistencies. If there are no gaps, you should receive them in a few weeks.
Benefits of Senior Citizen ID Card
Let us now see the various benefits associated with Senior Citizen ID cards.
- Discounts on rail and airplane tickets
Senior citizens who have a valid Senior Citizen ID card can get attractive discounts on rail and airplane tickets. Citizens over 63 years of age are currently eligible for a 50% discount on economy fare for domestic travel via Air India. Those over 65 years are, meanwhile, eligible for a 50% discount for domestic travel within India for Jet Airways. The same goes for travelling in various coaches of Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains.
- Access to personalised government and private schemes
Having a Senior Citizen ID card gives you access to some of the most rewarding government and private schemes. For example, the Varistha Mediclaim Policy offers a maximum insurance sum of ₹1 lakh for hospitalisation and ₹2 lakh for critical insurance. LIC also has multiple schemes specifically designed for senior citizens. Private investment players have equally impressive investment and healthcare schemes for senior citizens.
- Tax benefits
Paying tax is not ideal for senior citizens. The government understands that and offers multiple benefits to ensure senior citizens feel little or no tax burden. Senior citizens earning ₹3 lakh annually are exempt from tax, while those earning between ₹3-6 lakh, ₹5-10 lakh, and more than ₹10 lakh, must only pay 10%, 20%, and 30% tax, respectively. Senior citizens can also avail multiple kinds of tax deductions under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
- Banking benefits
Senior citizens having a Senior Citizen ID card get special treatment at various nationalised and private banks. Almost every bank also has a specialized senior citizens savings account, which comes with lots of benefits like higher interest rate, personalised and quick customer service, and discounts on various other kinds of banking services.
List of Documents Required:
To support your application for a senior citizen ID card, you need to provide documents for address, identity and age. Every state administration may have its own list of documents that you must submit. But, the following are the most frequently requested documents to get a Senior Citizen ID Card:
- Properly filled-in Application Form
- 3 Passport-size Photo
- Identity Proof
- Address Proof
- Age Proof
Documents Required for Identity Proof:
- Aadhaar Card(UID)
- PAN Card
- Voter ID
- Driving License
- Passport
- Other recognized ID issued by the government
Documents Required for Address Proof:
- Passport
- Voter ID
- Ration Card
- Driving License
- Aadhaar Card
- House Registration Document
- Lease Agreement
- Telephone/Electricity/Water Bill
- Flat Allotment/Possession Letter
- Other recognized document issued by the government
Documents Required for Age Proof:
- Aadhaar Card
- Passport
- Voter ID
- Birth Certificate
- School Leaving Certificate
- Other recognized ID issued by the government
Here’s the list of online portals of various states and UTs where you can apply for a Senior Citizen ID Card:
Sr. No. | State | Online Portal | |
1 | Andhra Pradesh | MEESEVA App of Andhra Pradesh | |
2 | Arunachal Pradesh | e-Services Portal of Arunachal Pradesh | |
2 | Assam | e-District Services Portal of Assam | |
3 | Bihar | RTPS Portal of Bihar | |
4 | Chhattisgarh | e-district Portal of Chhattisgarh | |
5 | Goa | Online Portal of Goa | |
6 | Gujarat | Digital Gujarat Portal of Gujarat | |
7 | Haryana | e-Disha Portal of Haryana | |
8 | Himachal Pradesh | e-District Portal of Himachal Pradesh | |
9 | Jharkhand | JharSewa Portal of Jharkhand | |
10 | Karnataka | Nadakacheri-AJSK Portal of Karnataka | |
11 | Kerala | Akshaya Portal of Kerala | |
12 | Madhya Pradesh | e-District Portal of Madhya Pradesh | |
13 | Maharashtra | Aaple Sarkar Portal of Maharashtra | |
14 | Manipur | e-District Portal of Manipur | |
15 | Meghalaya | e-District Portal of Meghalaya | |
16 | Mizoram | e-District Portal of Mizoram | |
17 | Nagaland | e-District Portal of Nagaland | |
18 | Odisha | e-District Portal of Odisha | |
19 | Punjab | State Portal of Punjab | |
20 | Rajasthan | e-Mitra Portal of Rajasthan | |
21 | Sikkim | e-Services Portal of Sikkim | |
22 | Tamil Nadu | e-Sevai Center of Tamil Nadu | |
23 | Telangana | MeeSeva Portal of Telangana | |
24 | Tripura | e-District Portal of Tripura | |
25 | Uttar Pradesh | e-Saathi Web Portal or e-Saathi Mobile App | |
26 | Uttarakhand | e-District Portal of Uttarakhand. | |
27 | West Bengal | e-District Portal of West Bengal | |
28 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Official Portal of Andaman & Nicobar Administration. | |
29 | Chandigarh | Sampark Portal of Chandigarh | |
30 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | Official Portal of Dadra and Nagar Haveli Administration | |
31 | Daman and Diu | Official Portal of Daman and Diu Administration. | |
32 | Delhi | e-District Portal of Delhi. | |
33 | Jammu and Kashmir | Revenue Department of Jammu and Kashmir. | |
34 | Ladakh | Not applicable | |
35 | Lakshadweep | Not applicable | |
36 | Puducherry | e-District Portal of Puducherry. |