Senior Citizen Card
Getting older brings with it certain challenges, whether they involve physical exhaustion, health or just not being as active, enthusiastic or overzealous as you were when you were younger. To combat this and help people keep up with the times, the Social Welfare Department has certain schemes that people are allowed to avail. However, to make it easier for people to avail of these, they have come up with a Senior Citizens Card, which makes the entire process a lot easier.
What is a Senior Citizen Card?
Simply put, the Senior Citizen Card issued by the Social Welfare Department provides a recognized proof of age to elders to facilitate their access to concessions, discounts or priority services offered by Government departments, public companies, private and commercial establishments.
What are the criteria to apply for a Senior Citizen Card?
- People above 60 years, residing alone or with a spouse.
- People who are residents of Maharashtra
- Fill out the completed application form (1) Provide the additional documents asked for (2) Photographs matching their requirements.
What are the benefits of applying for a Senior Citizen Card?
There are multiple benefits for people interested in getting senior citizens cards. These benefits include convenience, monetary, assistance in many ways and many more. Some of these benefits include:- A 30% Railway concession for people of 60 years or more
- A 50% Maharashtra State Transport discount for people who are 65 years or more
- Air travel concession of 50% on the basic fare for people who are 65 years or more.
- A 30% discount at multiple private hospitals for a minimum age of 60 years.
- Government hospitals provide free treatment for 60 years old or older.
- Banks provide an additional interest of 0.5% to 60-year-olds.
- The high court provides priority hearing for anyone above the age of 65.
- Maharashtra professional tax exempts senior citizens (65 years and above) from paying any tax.
- M.T.N.L. provides a 25% discount on monthly rentals to 65-year-olds.
- Railways have a separate queue for senior citizens.
- Income tax relief is provided to all senior citizens.
- Old age home- admissions are free or at a nominal cost.
How to apply for a Senior
Citizen Card online?
The steps for going through the process are mentioned below:
- 1. Hit the login or create a new user account button.
- 2. Once it‘s created, log in using your username and password. A window will appear.
- 3. Search for the Revenue Department and click on it.
- 4. Then click on Senior Citizen Certificate.
Fill out the necessary information asked for like Name of husband, District name, Taluka name, etc. You will then receive an application form in the form of another window.
- 5. Hit the submit button.
- 6. You will then receive another window asking you to upload a passport sized photograph and additional documents.
- 7. Select and upload the needed documents.
- 8. You then have the option of making a payment. You would have to select a payment option and submit the payment details.
- 9. You can then download a soft copy of senior citizen certificate in anytime from a week to twenty days.
Name some documents needed to get a Senior Citizens Card?
Throughout the process of applying for the Senior Citizens Card, you will be asked multiple questions and have to submit or upload documents that prove the answers to those questions. Some of the information asked for has been mentioned below:
Name
Gender
Date of Birth
Age
Address mentioning the city, district, state
Contact Number And Email Address
Religion
Field of specialization
Year of Retirement
Retired From
Spouse’s Details
Relative’s Details
What are some challenges when creating a Senior Citizens Card?
One of the most prevalent challenges faced by the elderly is their inability to work with technology. With the world changing as fast as it is, it seems quite difficult for them to access and manage using the online interface to create their cards. Although in general, it does seem like it would take a lot less time, they find themselves struggling and then giving up or heading to an office to get some assistance.
Another challenge is that they don’t always have all their documentation from sixty years earlier. Furthermore, a lot of the people aren’t educated and find themselves having trouble filling out the forms or providing the additional documents needed. This severely delays the entire process. Very often another issue is that the older people do not always have a proof of residence since they might be residing in an old age home or something similar
The system used for the process of creating these cards has certain rules, and requirements and doesn’t deal with people on a case by case basis. Which means when people do not have certain documents or details, they cannot proceed.
The time that it normally takes to receive a certificate lengthens in order to fulfill all required documents and procedures, which is not good for people with all their details, waiting in line
How do we solve this issue?
We are working on creating dedicated help desks that would work at the local level viz., tehsildar office. The onus of identifying people and verifying their addresses should be on local police and should not be an issue hampering people from creating these cards. Tehsildar/collector office/local police can itself identify the beneficiaries creating a dedicated team including medical persons to find physiological age doing house-to-house survey and helping them with necessary procedures. This is a giant step forward, especially in cases where people do not have birth certificates. Creating awareness about the Senior Citizens Cards through campaigns, advertisements, gram sabha meetings, radio spots, etc.
| ANDHRA PRADESH | https://apdascac.com/ |
| ARUNACHAL PRADESH | https://ardistricts.nic.in/ |
| ASSAM | https://rtps.assam.gov.in/site/service-apply/issuance-of-senior-citizen-certificate |
| ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLAND | https://edistrict.andaman.gov.in/ |
| BIHAR | |
| CHATTISGARH | https://www.cgstate.gov.in/ |
| CHANDIGARH | http://sampark.chd.nic.in/ |
| DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI | |
| DELHI | http://seniorcitizen.delhipolice.gov.in/ |
| GOA | https://goaonline.gov.in/ |
| GUJARAT | https://www.digitalgujarat.gov.in/CitizenNew/CitizenServicesNew.aspx |
| HARYANA | https://saralharyana.gov.in/ |
| HIMACHAL PRADESH | https://himachalforms.nic.in/ |
| JHARKHAND | http://jharsewa.jharkhand.gov.in/ |
| JAMMU & KASHMIR | https://www.jk.gov.in/jammukashmir/?q=content/application-form-issue-identity-card-senior-citizen |
| KARNATAKA | https://sevasindhu.karnataka.gov.in/ |
| KERALA | |
| MADHYA PRADESH | http://www.home.mp.gov.in/ |
| LADAKH | |
| LAKSHADWEEP | |
| MAHARASHTRA | https://aaplesarkar.mahaonline.gov.in/ |
| MANIPUR | https://imc.mn.gov.in/ |
| MEGHALAYA | https://eastkhasihills.gov.in/ |
| MIZORAM | https://serviceonline.gov.in/ |
| NAGALAND | |
| ODISHA | https://csc.lokaseba-odisha.in/ |
| PUNJAB | http://edistrict.punjabgovt.gov.in/ |
| PUDUCHERRY | https://oaps.py.gov.in/ |
| RAJASTHAN | https://rajasthan.gov.in/ |
| SIKKIM | https://eservices.sikkim.gov.in/ |
| TAMIL NADU | https://tnpds.org.in/ |
| TELENGANA | https://ts.meeseva.telangana.gov.in/ |
| TRIPURA | https://edistrict.tripura.gov.in/ |
| UTTARAKHAND |