How to Get Government Subsidy with the Help of Your Aadhar card

Ever wondered why Aadhaar has today become the very basis of Indian’s and has spread to everyone’s life in a short time? We’ll help you dive deep into it in this 2 minutes read.

Once upon a time there were cases where subsidies like LPG would be falsely booked by the gas agencies and sold commercially. This would ultimately leave the customers unaware of the transaction taking place. These cylinders were meant to reach households but instead landed in the black market. The Central Government of India has grown smarter and decided to transfer subsidies directly to the beneficiaries instead of having intermediaries interfering by leveraging the power of the Aadhar Card.

With an Aadhar card and an up-to-date bank account, you don't have to worry about missing out from the Government or deal with intermediaries. Here is a list of Government subsidies you can avail with the help of your Aadhar Card.

Direct Bank Transfer

The Direct Bank Transfer scheme credits money or subsidies from the Government directly to your bank account for those who have an Aadhar card. Previously this was done in cash or cheque but beneficiaries can now avail over 90 Central Government issued subsidies including food subsidies, Pahal, and the LPG schemes with this facility. In order to make the most of Direct Bank Transfer facility, you have to first link your Aadhar Card with your latest bank account.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

Women who are below the poverty line can now apply for a new gas connection for free with the Central Government of India under this scheme using their Aadhar card. The Government pays up to Rs. 1600 for a new gas connection and even covers refilling costs. The objective of this scheme is to reach 5 crore LPG connections for BPL households and reduce the health hazards caused through the use of unclean fossil fuels. You have to verify your Aadhar card status and link your bank account to it to avail this scheme

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

Ever dreamt of buying a home and want to turn them to reality? You can do so now with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme and your Aadhar card.

This gives you subsidies on home loans for an amount of up to Rs. 2.7 lacs. The eligibility criteria of this plan mandates every member of your household to get their Aadhar card status verified and linked with their bank account. It also enforces that the head female of the family should have co-ownership.

In addition, you shouldn't own a pucca house anywhere in India and the bank must have executed a Memorandum of Association (MOU) with either the National Housing Bank (NHB) or Housing and Development Corporation (HUDCO).

Emeritus Fellowship

Launched by the University Grants Commission, the Emeritus Fellowship provides superannuated teachers the opportunity to undertake research without any career or pay scale restrictions by providing them up to Rs. 31,000 per month. This could be only possible post furnishing their respective Aadhar card details. In addition, they get up to Rs. 50,000 per year on top of this and all they have to do is to update their Aadhar Card status, fill a form, and link it with their bank accounts.

Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rules, 2015

For people under BPL, the Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rules lets them avail a certain amount of money at a price pre-determined by the Government to buy rations and get food for households. The Government made the system of applying under this scheme very efficient since it has now linked ration cards with Aadhar Card linked bank accounts under the Direct Bank Transfer Scheme.

Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana

You can get a certain amount of money disbursed to you if you don't have an insurance cover for your property using your Aadhar card. The scheme applies to rural landless households and is an initiative driven by the Department of Financial Services. It also provides insurance coverage to the head of the family or earning member by providing financial security against partial or permanent disability. A premium of Rs. 200 per year is charged initially in this scheme for an insurance cover of Rs. 30,000 and 50% of that amount gets subsidised from the Social Security Fund. This 50% is borne by the Government for Rural Landless Households while the rest of the premium is taken care by the Nodal Agency for occupational groups. Again, to get the benefits of this scheme, you have to link your Aadhar Card with your bank account. The scheme is essentially a merger of two social security schemes, Aam Admi Bima Yojana (AABY) and Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY), coming into effect since January 2013 after being approved by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Maternity Benefit Programme

The Maternity Benefit Programme is designed for the welfare and benefit of women across the country. Under this scheme, women undergoing pregnancy or childbirth are eligible to avail up to Rs. 5,000 to take proper care of themselves. The amount is disbursed in three instalments and the scheme requires the individual to link their Aadhar card with their bank account in order to avail it. The scheme was launched in 2016 and is the brainchild of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

How to Link Aadhar Card to Your Bank Account?

To link your Aadhar card to your bank account, simply visit your nearest branch and fill out the form there. To do this step online instead of visiting the branch, just go to OnlineSBI and under the My Account Section, select the Update Aadhar with Bank Accounts (CIF) and enter your details in the pages that follow. For the online linking, however, you have to make sure that internet banking facility is enabled for your account and know your Aadhar Card number.

Conclusion

“As per the verdict of the Supreme Court, Aadhaar can be used in direct benefit transfer schemes under Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act. AEPS is of great help to beneficiaries who live in remote villages.”

Corruption in the Indian financial system is a huge problem that is being tackled by these schemes. By linking your Aadhar Card to your bank account and filling out the forms for these schemes, you can make sure that you don't miss out on the benefits and get the subsidies re-routed to you directly.

In 2016-17 alone, the Government managed to save Rs. 29,769 crores which speaks volumes about the Aadhar card status verification effectiveness. UIDAI has also instructed banks to continue Aadhar-linked payments making the withdrawal mode under the DBT Scheme easier.

In the future and for upcoming schemes, getting your Aadhar card linked to your bank account and signing up for these schemes will become an absolute must.