The number of senior citizens in India might vary based on the state and so might their educational qualifications, however, it should be pointed that their population across the country is still one of the most in need of assistance. There are schemes that the Government has created to assist these people as best as possible so they can get through their life. When people are crossing their fifties and entering into their sixties, they also find themselves a lot more dependent, and this is not something that most of them would like. They would have preferred being able to be independent.
While the process of creating a senior citizen’s card was quite challenging in the past, it has come a long way. Initially, the applicant, who had to be the senior citizen, even if they had someone else applying and going through the process on their behalf had to travel to the office and apply for the card. Just the initial step of the process, the travelling, was the primary inconvenience and had a lot of people, deterred from completing the process. In addition, we can now apply for various other documents such as a death certificate, an employment card, a ration card, and many others.
The changes made now meant that people could apply for their senior citizen’s card in a few easy clicks. They moved the process online, and the website was optimised so that it was a lot faster and user friendly for the user base that needed to get through it. While people who needed to create their cards might have needed assistance using the website, they could still handle the new process, from the comfort of their home, and at their convenience. The website also allowed for the uploading of all their supporting documents and certificates.
Some of the documents needed when applying for the card are proof of residence issued by the Corresponding State officials to the applicant, which could include their Aadhaar card, drivers licence and so on. The candidates should also submit a Government document stating their Date of Birth which serves as the age proof. Additionally, they can always hand in their Aadhaar card, passport, driving licence issued by Regional Transport Authority, Voter ID card, also called the Election card.
Other than creating the senior citizen card that they can avail of whenever they want, they can always avail of the various schemes that they have put out. They not only receive better interest rates when dealing with the financial departments of the country, but they can also get assistance when they have to go through any process involving banks, insurance policies and so on. Additionally, there were always separate queues for older people, and in some places like when booking tickets at the train station, there were also separate counters for older people. They could handle all official Government documentation processes with ease. There were a lot of Government schemes that they could avail of as well, and these were quite beneficial. They received discounts on their travel, no matter how they choose to travel, including airfare and train tickets.
